Couple found guilty of murdering grandson in North Wales
Ethan Ives Griffiths' mum has also been found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child
Last updated 15th Jul 2025
The grandparents of a two year old boy, who died in their North Wales home, have been found guilty of his murder.
Ethan Ives Griffiths' mother has also been found guilty of child cruelty and causing or allowing his death.
Ethan moved in with his grandparents Kerry Ives, 46 and Michael Ives, 47, in Garden City, Flintshire, just weeks before his death in August 2021.
CCTV from his time there showed some of the the awful treatment he received - which included being dragged around with one arm by Michael, and being hit by their other grandchildren.
The two-year-old eventually collapsed inside his grandparents home on 14 August 2021 after suffering a 'catastrophic' brain injury.
The toddler died two days later in Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.
He was also found with 40 injuries to his body after he was taken to hospital and died.
The jury heard that Kerry and Michael, both originally from Wolverhampton, were in the room at the time of Ethan's collapse and his mum Shannon, 28, was upstairs.
Kerry and Michael Ives denied murder, causing or allowing the death of a child, and child cruelty, but were found guilty after a four-week trial at Mold Crown Court.
Shannon Ives, 28, denied causing or allowing the death of a child, and child cruelty, but was also found guilty.
North Wales Detective Superintendent Chris Bell, Senior Investigating Officer, said:
"This has been almost four years in the making from when we first got that call on 14 August 2021, it's been incredibly complex, incredibly challenging and incredibly emotional.
"That poor boy Ethan, in the build up to his last days, has led quite a tragic life really. (It has been) upsetting to see some of the evidence that we uncovered, largely via CCTV but also witness accounts.
"When we look at the initial call from the hospital when we got a report to say that they were concerned that it was not accidental injuries, to how we've got to where we've got to, it's involved a significant amount of detective resources, specialist resources, not just in North Wales Police but outside including the National Crime Agency, who've been able to advise and support us with experts, that's culminated in a number of specialties being explored.
"Six experts have given medical evidence in court. All of those individuals have commented on their areas of specialties, whether it be the brain, pathology, pediatrics, dehydration, the salt content in Ethan because we heard that he was up to 20% dehydrated which could have potentially been fatal in itself.
"We heard he had 40 bruises on him... that isn't by accident"
"So when you bring all of that together, to understand what's happened to him, it starts to present a picture quite conclusively (that) this boy has been subject to intervention, assault by other people. We heard that he had 40 bruises on him as well - that isn't by accident.
"Then the question, when we realised that, is who could have done it? From the accounts of the offenders themselves, by their very admission there were only three adults in that house. One of them was upstairs, two were in the room at the time, so it became challenging as to which of the two had done it and the focus then really began on Michael and Kerry for actually committing the act that proved fatal.
"When you look at the evidence of their own accounts, coupled with the quite incriminating CCTV where you've got Michael treating Ethan like, has been described as a 'bag of rubbish' by barristers in court, where he's conditioned to put his hands on his head yet he's been dangled where you expect the natural reaction to be to brace himself, but yet he's still got his hands on his head and he's conditioned to that because that's learnt behaviour - that isn't the first time that was subjected to him.
"Really complex, really harrowing"
"You then see how Michael used to treat him on the trampoline. Harrowingly, he's instructing his other grandchildren to assault (his grandson) and you can see that clearly from the CCTV.
"Then you look at the accounts of Michael and Kerry and it can only be Michael. Michael has put himself on the sofa, within touching distance of Ethan. When you relay and overlay that with the medical experts, evidence that says that it's happened within a short period of time, the logical conclusion was to believe that Michael was responsible.
"Really complex, really harrowing, it has been a long time coming - but finally we've got justice for Ethan."
They will be sentenced at a later date.