Mum and boyfriend guilty over death of toddler Lola James
Sinead James was accused of causing or allowing her death while Kyle Bevan faced a murder charge
Last updated 4th Apr 2023
A man has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend's 2 year old daughter.
Lola James died in hospital in July 2020 - 4 days after being found with a 'catastrophic' head injury at her home in Haverfordwest.
Her mum 30 year old Sinead James from Neyland has also been standing trial at Swansea Crown Court - she's been found guilty of causing or allowing the toddlers death.
Over the course of the trial, Swansea Crown Court heard how Lola James was found to have suffered more than 100 bruises and scratches to her body as well as a serious head injury.
31 year old Kyle Bevan from Aberystwyth denied murdering the toddler - claiming she'd been hurt by the family dog pushing her down the stairs.
Medical evidence brought by the prosecution concluded Lola's injuries were unlikely to have been caused by a fall down carpeted stairs and were more "consistent with abusive head trauma and physical abuse".
The jury heard Bevan had taken photos and a video of her injuries on his phone and waited an hour before asking his mother to call an ambulance.
Swansea Crown Court was told that when officers arrived at the house they found the bath to be spotlessly clean despite the rest of the property being dirty and cluttered.
Paramedics also noted that Lola was wet, and a wet, vomit and blood-stained onesie was later recovered from a corner of the living room.
Lola's mum Sinead James told Swansea Crown Court she was scared of Bevan saying he'd previously "smashed up" her house whilst high on drugs.
She had also tried to use Clare's Law to look at Kyle Bevan's background and whether there was a history of domestic abuse but told the court he wouldn't give his date of birth.
She told the jury she accepted she'd failed her daughter - but denied causing or allowing her death.