Mon, 24 Jun 2013
Rebecca Shuttleworth, 25, Birmingham, has been found guilty of murdering her two-year-old son. She was also convicted of four counts of child cruelty. Her partner, Luke Southerton, 32, Birmingham, was cleared of murder but was convicted of one count of child cruelty. The pair, who initially pleaded not guilty, will be sentenced on Tuesday.
A post-mortem examination of the boy, Keanu Williams, found 37 external marks of injury including a fractured skull, bruising, burns and a torn abdomen.
They had been living a ‘nomadic life’, moving to several places in the last six months. Police believe they ‘slipped through the net’ of police and social workers in different local authorities by moving around regularly. A serious case review has started into all agencies that came into contact with them.
Please click here to read the full story as reported by BBC News and Birmingham Mail.
Please click here to view the profile for Christopher Hotten QC, prosecuting.
