Teen jailed for life for murdering tragic Logan Mwangi, 5, named as judge waives anonymity

30 June 2022, 13:36 | Updated: 30 June 2022, 17:51

The 14-year-old boy convicted of murdering five-year-old Logan Mwangi can now be named after a judge lifted the anonymity order.

Craig Mulligan was detained for a minimum of 15 years after being found guilty of the youngster's murder.

He was 13 at the time.

The judge said: "I have come to the conclusion, having considered the submissions this morning, that I should lift the reporting restriction in this matter."

Logan's mother and stepfather were also convicted, and jailed for life.

John Cole, 40, was told he would spend at least 29 years behind bars while Angharad Williamson, 31, would serve a minimum of 28 years' imprisonment.

The trio were convicted of killing the little boy in Sarn, Bridgend, South Wales, in April, following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

Mulligan is the stepson of Cole.

Both Williamson and the youth were convicted of a further charge of perverting the course of justice - an offence Cole had admitted before trial.

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Jefford said: "You are responsible for Logan's death and all the anguish that has followed from it.

"Because he was killed in his own home, it is not possible to be sure what has happened to him.

"Shortly before his death, at which time he was three feet five inches and weighed only three stone one pound, he was subjected to a brutal attack."

The judge described the injuries Logan had suffered and added: "Also the sort of injuries seen in abused children.

"Inflicting these injuries on a small, defenceless five-year-old is nothing short of horrific."

"It is impossible to imagine the terror a five-year-old would feel suffering those horrific injuries inflicted upon him by those regarded as his family with the compliance of his mother," she said.

The concealment of Logan's body in the river, was described as "heartless", "calculated and orchestrated".

The judge said she did not believe Williamson had participated in the physical assault of Logan but was sure that Cole and the youth had.

Turning to Cole, the judge said: "You carried out a ferocious attack on a small, defenceless child."

To Williamson, the judge said it was clear that her relationship with Logan had changed when Cole came into their lives in April 2019. "Logan became superfluous, and in your eyes, he became a badly behaved and naughty child that no one described."

Logan, a previously "smiling, cheerful little boy", was discovered in the River Ogmore in Pandy Park on the morning of July 31 2021.

Police found him partially submerged, wearing dinosaur pyjama bottoms and a Spider-Man top just 250 metres from his home.

The youngster had suffered 56 external cuts and bruises, and "catastrophic" internal injuries, which were likened to a high-speed road accident.

Experts said the injuries could have only been caused by a "brutal and sustained assault" inflicted on Logan in the hours, or days, prior to his death. They also said the injuries were "consistent with child abuse".

In the months and weeks leading up to his death, Logan had been "dehumanised" by his family, prosecutors said.

Logan's stammer is said to have worsened, becoming particularly bad around Cole. He wet himself more frequently and began self-harming.

Friends of the couple said Cole told them he did not like Logan, and others said his attitude changed after becoming obsessed with the idea that Williamson had cheated with Logan's father Ben Mwangi.

After Williamson gave birth to his own child, Cole was reluctant to let Logan see the baby and later claimed the boy had tried to smother the infant.

Medics made a safeguarding referral to the police after Logan suffered a broken arm in August 2020.

By March, due to concerns over Cole's behaviour, Logan and his younger sibling had been assigned their own social worker.

In June, a month before Logan died, the family were removed from the child protection register - meaning it was believed there was no longer a risk of significant harm.

A foster family whom the youth stayed with claimed to have heard him say he wanted to kill Logan.

A support worker also heard the youth singing: "I love kids, I f****** love kids, I love to punch kids in the head, it's orgasmic."

Weeks before he died, Logan suffered a broken collarbone but he never got medical treatment.

On July 20, Logan tested positive for Covid-19 and he was shut in his bedroom with a baby gate barring him from leaving.

Caroline Rees QC, prosecuting, said: "He had been kept like a prisoner in his small bedroom in the flat you saw, a room likened by Williamson as a dungeon."

Assistant Director NSPCC Wales Tracey Holdsworth said: “What happened to Logan should never be forgotten, and it should make us even more determined in our efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect from happening.

“It is vital that the Child Safeguarding Practice Review leaves no stone unturned in establishing exactly what took place before Logan died and whether more could have been done to protect him by the agencies involved with his family.

“We need investment in children’s services in Wales to provide comprehensive support to any child at risk of harm and to be better equipped to prevent a tragedy such as this happening again.

“Anyone with concerns for the wellbeing of a child should contact the local authority, the police or the NSPCC helpline if they feel a child is at risk or could come to harm.”