Murdered boy was ‘failed by Covid lockdown rules’
A BOY of five murdered in his home was failed due to lockdown rules and doctors failing to pass on signs of abuse, a damning report found yesterday.
Logan Mwangi was tortured by 13-year-old Craig Mulligan along with his own stepfather, ex-convict John Cole, and mother Angharad Williamson.
Mulligan, who was described as ‘pure evil’ by a carer, helped racist Cole dump Logan’s body in a river as if they were ‘fly-tipping rubbish’. Social workers had agreed Mulligan could move into the family’s flat five days before the murder in July 2021 – even though he had threatened to kill Logan.
Yesterday’s review into the tragedy revealed that an unnamed paediatric consultant took 31 pictures of injuries when Logan was taken to hospital but failed to alert social workers. His mother took him to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend in August 2020, where Logan – a ‘delightful, polite little boy who had lots of friends’ – was found to have broken his arm.
Medics called in police because Williamson had waited a day before taking him to A&E.
Questioned about the injuries, she told medical staff that Logan would bang his head and pinch himself. She said the mark to his ears was from wearing a face mask, and it was accepted that the injuries were accidental.
After Williamson told detectives Logan had fallen down the stairs at Cole’s nearby home, no further action was taken.
Jan Pickles, the review’s chairman, described it as a ‘significant missed opportunity’ that the full list of injuries wasn’t shared with the local council. Following a bustup between Cole and Mulligan’s birth mother the following January, Williamson told police Logan had been pushed down the stairs by the teenager.
This time, Logan was placed on the child protection register – only to be taken off it again in May 2021, weeks before he was killed.
Examining the decision, the review highlighted the role of the Covid pandemic. It said restrictions on face-to-face contact still in place last year ‘significantly affected’ the ability of professionals to fully assess Logan’s chaotic home life. Child protection conferences, as well as GP consultations being held virtually, limited contact with Logan, it found. The review also questions whether Cole and Williamson exploited lockdown rules to ‘disguise’ what was really going on.
Another missed opportunity was the failure to ‘fully explore’ the impact on Logan, whose father is of British and Kenyan heritage, of living with a man who was a former National Front member.
He had a string of convictions including assault on a child, possession of an offensive weapon, theft and illegal drug possession.
Cole, Williamson and Mulligan were found guilty of murder in April and given life sentences.
The review made 15 recommendations including a campaign by the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board to urge the public to report concerns about children.
The NSPCC said the report showed the pandemic’s impact.
‘Found guilty of murder’