Mother tells of heartbreak as man is jailed for battering boy to death
THE MOTHER of a “perfect” five-year-old boy beaten to death by her then-boyfriend said she hopes the killer is never released from prison.
Lilya Breha’s son Alex Malcolm died after being battered in a park by Marvyn Iheanacho, who flew into a rage at the little boy for losing a trainer.
Iheanacho was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years for the attack against the young boy, who Judge Mark Dennis QC described as “completely defenceless” in the face of the 39-year-old’s “brute force”.
Speaking after the sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court, Alex’s mother said she was heartbroken by what happened.
In a tearful interview she said: “He (Alex) was bubbly. He was just perfect you know, he was a really, really special little boy.”
She added: “He was shy, he was so shy, and very polite. He would always say ‘Mummy thank you’ and ‘I love you mummy’.”
Witnesses heard a child’s fearful voice saying “sorry”, loud banging and a man screaming about the loss of a shoe during the attack in Mountsfield Park in Catford, south-east London, the trial heard.
Alex suffered fatal head and stomach injuries and died in hospital two days after the attack last year.
One of his trainers was later found in the play area by police.
Iheanacho, from Hounslow, west London, has a “deeply entrenched character flaw”, Judge Dennis said, adding: “One that leads you to overreact and lose your temper.”
The killer has a string of previous convictions for violent offences, including attacks on expartners and robbery.
The judge said Iheanacho had given fake and misleading accounts to paramedics, hospital staff and police.
“All this to protect yourself and cover up what you had done,” he said.
Ms Breha, 30, described Iheanacho as a “good liar” and pathetic. She met him through a friend after he left prison and he had convinced her he was a good person.