Life term for mother 
who beat
young son
to death

Rebecca Shuttleworth was ordered to serve at least 18 years in jail after being convicted yesterday following a six-month trial of murdering Keanu Williams.

Shuttleworth, who was sentenced by Mr Justice Spencer at Birmingham Crown Court, had also been found guilty of four counts of child cruelty.

The 25-year-old inflicted what detectives described as “horrifying” injuries on Keanu after apparently convincing her support worker that she had turned her life around.

Keanu was pronounced dead on January 9 2011 after paramedics were called to his mother’s partner’s flat in Old Moat Way, Ward End, Birmingham.

The judge, who also passed concurrent sentences for child cruelty totalling four years, told Shuttleworth: “The jury have convicted you of the brutal murder of your two-year-old son.

“He was a defenceless child and it was your duty to protect him. Instead you beat him so severely he died a lingering death from his injuries a day or so later.

“You have also been convicted of cruelty by failing to summon the medical aid he so badly needed.”

Paying tribute to Keanu, the judge added: “Joyful was the word that more than one witness used to describe him – he was a favourite at nursery as well as within the family. His death has left a void in many live which will never be filled.”

Although the judge accepted that Shuttleworth had experienced her share of tragedy in losing her mother and grandmother following a “troubling” upbringing, he said she had shown a cruel and vicious streak towards Keanu.

As Shuttleworth wept, the judge added: “He must have been terrified, it must have been clear to you as soon as the violence had taken place that Keanu was badly in need of medical attention.”

Shuttleworth had decided not to seek medical help because she knew his injuries, including internal bleeding to his abdomen, could not be explained away.

Outlining the aggravating features, the judge told Shuttleworth: “His was a lingering death over many hours following a brutal assault by his own mother.

“This was the grossest abuse of a position of trust – you were his mother and it was your most basic and natural duty to protect him.”

Shuttleworth’s partner, Luke Southerton, was cleared of murder, manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child, but convicted of one incident of cruelty towards Keanu during which he was bitten, apparently in an attempt to stop him biting other people.

Southerton, 32, was given a nine-month jail term suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work for the community.

A serious case review into Keanu’s death will be published in the near future.

In a statement, the chairwoman of Birmingham’s Safeguarding Children Board acknowledged that chances to take action had been missed.

Jane Held, the independent chairwoman of the multi-agency Board, said: “This is an extremely sad case and my sympathies are with those who knew Keanu.

“While we can’t go into detail prior to the review being made public, it is clear from this trial that professionals in the different agencies involved missed a significant number of opportunities to intervene and take action.”

Keanu’s lifeless body was found by paramedics after Southerton dialled 999, claiming the boy had stopped breathing, was pale and had not been well.

Although fatal injuries had been inflicted up to 48 hours earlier, Shuttleworth did not seek medical help before the 999 call was made at 7.42pm on January 9. It is thought Keanu, known to his family as “Kiwi”, two days earlier.

At the start of the trial, prosecutor Christopher Hotten QC told the jury Keanu’s injuries were not an “isolated event” but had been the culmination of a long period of ill-treatment which left him with injuries to his head, chest, back, feet and abdomen.