Mum and ex jailed for 'violent discipline' murder of 18-month-old boy

12 January 2024 , 12:03

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The mother of an 18-month-old boy and her ex have been jailed for life for his murder after a night of "violent discipline" where the tot suffered 70 injuries to his body and was found with cocaine in his system.

Little Alfie Phillips was beaten to death and smothered in an overnight attack by the pair fuelled by whisky and cocaine, and died with a "myriad of bruises", broken ribs, arms and leg. Following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court, Sian Hedges, 27, and Jack Benham, 35, were convicted of murder and today jailed for a minimum of 19 years and 23 years respectively.

The boy was discovered blue and floppy on the morning of November 28, 2020, at Benham's caravan in Hernhill, near Faversham, Kent and paramedics said it was "immediately apparent" Alfie had been dead for some time. During the trial, both defendants denied harming Alfie. The court heard Benham, who is not Alfie's father, said he woke up with the toddler under his leg in bed and he thought he had suffocated him

Jurors had heard about older injuries Alfie sustained in the months before his death and their explanations for them, such as a cut under Alfie's eye from playing with keys and his fingers being caught in the dog gate in Benham's parents' home. Alfie was described as "good as gold" and "lively" by his father, Sam Phillips, adding there was "never a dull moment" with the toddler, who he said was always playing and laughing.

Jurors took approximately 10 hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict for the murder of Alfie. Prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC had told jurors: "It is clear that he had been deliberately injured on more than one occasion, culminating in an assault perpetrated on him during the night of 27 to 28 November 2020 that led to his death."

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Mum and ex jailed for 'violent discipline' murder of 18-month-old boy

Little Alfie was just 18 months old when he was murdered (PA)

She added: "Jack Benham and Sian Hedges were in the caravan together throughout the night. Had either defendant not been joining in with the assaults, that defendant who was not part of it would have stopped the attack and removed Alfie Phillips from the caravan, and from the presence of the other who was carrying out these attacks.

"The fact that this did not happen can only be because both defendants agreed that the assaults should take place ... they both agreed in meting out some sort of aggressive, violent discipline to Alfie that night which resulted in his death."

Murderer Sian Hedges (PA)

Killer Jack Benham (PA)

The court had heard from Benham how he and Hedges began their relationship around September 2020 through meeting regularly at the same friend's house where they would buy drugs. On the night before Alfie died, Benham said the pair were drinking, chatting and watching YouTube videos that evening as "just normal". But the prosecution said this was the time Alfie must have been violently assaulted.

Ms Knight said: "It was all a lie, the truth is you and Sian were both present and involved in that assault, you and Sian both killed Alfie." Jurors heard that Benham’s mother tried to perform CPR on him after Benham came out of the caravan, where he lived in his parents’ garden, carrying Alfie.

Jack Benham being questioned (ITV)

Joan Benham recalled her son pleading: “Mum, do something, he’s not breathing, mum do something.” In text messages sent in the weeks before little Alfie's death, Benham said that as a “joke” Hedges should bite the little boy hard, after she messaged: “Little shit bit my arm this morning, f****** hurt.”

In a victim impact statement read in court, Alfie’s father Sam Phillips said: “After the trial we still feel we deserve answers. I will never know the truth about what happened to my son. I never got to hear him say his first proper words, I never got to have a conversation with him, I was robbed of the opportunity to see him grow up.”

Speaking after the sentencing today Mr Phillips added: "They finally got what they deserved. We have got the justice in our hearts. Justice has been done.”

Following the conviction, Kent Police ’s senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Kath Way said: “Alfie should have been protected and loved by his mum, instead Hedges and Benham inflicted unimaginable suffering on him during a sustained and lengthy night of violence. Alfie would have been four now and would have recently started school. Instead, his life was cruelly taken away by those he should have been able to trust the most.”

Inside the caravan where Alfie died (ITV)

An NSPCC spokeswoman told the Mirror: “The cruelty inflicted upon Alfie culminating in his death is devastating. And it is heart-breaking to know that this was done at the hands of those who were supposed to be caring for him. We know that very young children are particularly vulnerable to abuse because they are completely reliant on the adults around them for care and protection.

"And it is so important that anyone who is worried about a child’s safety speaks out about their concerns. People can contact the local authority, the police or the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.”