Echoes of little Liam’s grim ordeal
BY JAMES MONCUR THE case has striking similarities to the brutal death of Fife toddler Liam Fee in 2014.
The two-year-old was killed by his mother Rachel Fee, 31, and her civil partner Nyomi Fee, 28, who were also found guilty of torturing two other boys for more than two years.
Liam died from a ruptured heart, having also suffered a fractured upper arm bone and broken thigh bone. The injuries were described at the High Court in Livingston as similar to those seen in car crash victims. He would have been in terrible agony.
The Fees, both originally from Ryton, Tyne and Wear, denied murder and inflicting a catalogue of abuse on Liam. They claimed another boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was responsible for Liam’s injuries.
The jury did not believe their cruel lies. They convicted both Fees of murder and a litany of abuse and neglect of the two other boys, one of them the child they had falsely accused over Liam’s death.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the court the women were guilty of “unyielding, heartless cruelty”. They had shown “callous indifference” to Liam’s suffering and had covered up his injuries, he said.
Social Work Scotland President Elaine Torrance said at the time: “Liam’s death is an absolute tragedy and the level of cruelty that Liam experienced was deeply shocking.
“What makes it worse is that the abuse was carried out by the very people Liam should have been able to trust the most: his mum and his stepmum.”