Monster mum jailed for life for murder of toddler son
A vile mum who beat her toddler son to death after she duped social workers into believing she was a caring parent has been jailed for life.
Rebecca Shuttleworth tortured little Keanu Williams, two, for months before fatally battering him in the two days leading up to his death.
The 25-year-old was today jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years for
Meanwhile she had attended parenting classes and appeared to be an “attentive” mother.
A case review is expected to probe failures by agencies responsible for child protection.
Devious Shuttleworth told doctors Keanu, nicknamed Kiwi, had suffered a heart attack after his lifeless body was found at her boyfriend Luke Southerton’s flat in Ward End, Birmingham.
But a postmortem uncovered a catalogue of injuries that suggested a long period of torture – including 37 bruises and a fist-sized tear in the tot’s stomach, the trial jury was told.
Tests on Keanu’s battered body found he died from internal bleeding and had been repeatedly struck with a stick or rod over a 48-hour period.
The tragic toddler also had a fractured skull and bite marks over his body.
Shuttleworth had blamed Southerton for inflicting the fatal injuries on her son when she left him with Keanu for a few hours on January 9, 2011.
But a jury of four men and seven women found her guilty of murder yesterday after almost three days of deliberations.
She was also convicted of one charge of cruelty to another child who cannot be named for legal reasons.
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