Ethan Ives-Griffiths murder trial day three: Flintshire
Michael Ives (47) and Kerry Ives (46) - Ethan's grandparents - from Garden City, stand accused of murdering Ethan Ives-Griffiths, who died on August 16, 2021.
They have also been charged with: Causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm, and Causing the assault / ill treatment / neglect / abandonment of a child to cause unnecessary suffering / injury.
Shannon Ives (28), Ethan's mother, also standing trial, has been charged with: Causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm, and Causing the assault / ill treatment / neglect / abandonment of a child to cause unnecessary suffering / injury.
At Mold Crown Court on Tuesday (June 10) Mr Jayaratnam Jayamohan, a Paediatric Neurosurgeon for more than 20 years, gave evidence.
Mr Jayamohan confirmed that Ethan was unresponsive on arrival at the Countess of Chester hospital on August 14, adding that after examinations, medical professionals would classify Ethan as being in a coma at the time.
Mr Jayamohan said there is a way of looking at verbal responses, motor responses and whether the eyes were open or closed. He stated that Ethan's PERMA score was 7/15. Fifteen being the highest and three being the lowest.
Following a CT scan, Ethan was transferred to Alder Hey hospital. At the stage of being transferred to Alder Hey for surgery, Mr Jayamohan described Ethan as being "desperately ill".
The court heard that Ethan had a "large amount of fluid" pressing on brain and the operation was aimed at removing fluid.
When asked by Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, about the state of Ethan at this point, Mr Jayamohan said it was a "very hopeful operation" and he "was probably going to die".
He added: "He was a young boy, so we were always going to give him every opportunity. Everything was stacked against him at this point."
When asked by Ms Rees whether there were "clear abnormalities inside the skull", when discussing Ethan's CT scan, Mr Jayamohan replied: "Yes".
Reviewing the scan, Mr Jayamohan said: "It tells me there is very significant abnormality on right side causing pressure and would not be working at all right. It is essentially having a stroke to whole half of brain and reflects how desperately unwell he was."
He states there were areas of fresh blood (less than 10 days old) within the subdural space, in addition to the fresh blood within the brain. Mr Jayamohan said the bleeding suggests at least two episodes to cause bleeding in brain, but it "could be more".
Mr Jayamohan said he hasn't seen any evidence or history that Ethan had hit his head, adding that Ethan collapsed and went straight into a "comatose situation", which was consistent with the findings of his CT scan
Mr Jayamohan said the injuries caused to Ethan's head could come from two mechanisms, and that both could happen rather than one or the other.
The first is an "impact" or physical contact with an object moving to hit the right side of Ethan's head or Ethan's head moving to hit object. The second mechanism is that of a shaking injury, which doesn't involve an impact.
'Either way is involving trauma that is abnormal', he said.
Mr Jayamohan said in his view it is clear that the brain injury suffered by Ethan that led to his collapse must have occurred "pretty much straight away" on August 14.
He said that once Ethan had sustained the injury he was "always likely to die".
Mr David Elias KC, defence for Michael Ives asked Mr Jayamohan whether the pressure on Ethan's brain prior to August 13 may have caused changes in behaviour such as weakness and withdrawal. Mr Jayamohan said it was possible but couldn't say that it definitely could have caused the changes.
Mr Elias asked whether there may have been bleeding in Ethan's brain in the lead up to August 13, which Mr Jayamohan confirmed.
"That bleeding could lead to gradual build up of pressure on brain and skull," said Mr Elias.
Mr Elias asked whether an increase in pressure could lead to seizures, which Mr Jayamohan confirmed, but added that he would be "exceptionally surprised" if the subdural bleeding found in Ethan caused a seizure.
When asked about the injuries suffered by Ethan on August 14, Mr Jayamohan said that collisions can occur with a hard surface, without sustaining a fracture, as was the case with Ethan.
Mr Elias asks about lucid intervals within children suffering non accidental lethal head injuries.
For some head injuries you can have a period of 'complete normality', states Mr Elias, which Mr Jayamohan states was not in the case of Ethan.
Mr Jayamohan said: "Lucid means behaving neurologically normally. In general that is correct, for various reasons not applicable to Ethan."
Owen Edwards KC, defence for Kerry Ives, said that Ethan was "subject to substantial head injury close to time of collapse", with Mr Jayamohan stating that the use of force wouldn't have been lowered because of Ethan's presentation at the time.
The court was also shown police body worn footage of Shannon Ives' first interview, which took place at 1.30am on August 15 at Alder Hey.
When asked how Ethan had got in that position, Shannon Ives replied: 'I don't really know to be honest".
She said that Ethan wasn't really interacting with anybody, but was still eating and drinking. She claimed Ethan was "in his own little world" and wouldn't play with anyone, despite encouragement.
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Shannon Ives continued, stating that Ethan was "completely fine" on Friday, August 13, before collapsing at around 10am.
When discussing the events of August 14, Shannon Ives said that he had collapsed and it was "worse" than the Friday.
She gestured that she and Michael Ives were doing CPR but Ethan wouldn't wake up. In the footage, Shannon was seen crying and saying "I don't know what's caused it".
In the video, Shannon said that Ethan was "not the same child as he used to be".
Phone and text messages from Shannon Ives and Kerry Ives to other friends and family were also read out to the court.
The trial continues.
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North Wales Live
4 days ago
- North Wales Live
Social worker told Ethan Ives-Griffiths was asleep on visit in weeks before death, court hears
A social worker who tried to see a toddler in the weeks before he was allegedly murdered by his grandparents was told the child was having a nap, a court has heard. Two-year-old Ethan Ives-Griffiths died in hospital on August 16 2021, two days after an ambulance was called to the North Wales home of his grandparents Kerry Ives, 46, and Michael Ives, 47, where he was living along with his mother Shannon Ives, 28. A trial at Mold Crown Court has heard Ethan suffered 'catastrophic head injuries' and was severely underweight when he died. Social worker Michael Cornish, from Flintshire County Council, said he first visited Shannon Ives on July 22, 2021 at her parents' home in Garden City in Deeside. The court heard the mother moved back in with her parents after she 'fled' her home in Mold due to domestic violence. Mr Cornish said Ethan was on the child protection register, which meant he had to be seen every 10 days. He said on his first visit he saw Ethan in the back garden of the property and described him as 'a small two-year-old boy who was quite shy'. He said Michael Ives, who stood with his daughter as he spoke to her, said words to the effect of: 'He's the quiet one, he doesn't say anything.' Mr Cornish told the court he contacted Shannon Ives to arrange another visit on August 5 but, following a conversation about isolating due to Covid, he only saw her on the doorstep and was told Ethan and one of his siblings were 'having a nap'. The court heard his visit lasted almost 45 minutes. Mr Cornish said: 'During the visit I asked to see the children again but they were still asleep.' Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone He said it was either Shannon Ives or her mother Kerry Ives who told him Ethan was asleep. He added: 'This was a time when it was Covid. 'It was very difficult, we had to be very careful with entering properties. For whatever reason I accepted those children were still asleep.' On August 12 he said he arranged with health visitor Ellie Jones to go to the house for another visit but there was no answer at the door. He tried to phone Shannon Ives the following day but there was no answer, the court heard. Mr Cornish said he then went on leave, but emailed his manager to provide an update on the case and to say somebody needed to see the children. Michael and Kerry Ives, of Kingsley Road, Garden City, deny murder, an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. Shannon Ives, of Nant Garmon, Mold, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16.
Western Telegraph
4 days ago
- Western Telegraph
Social worker told toddler was asleep on visit in weeks before death, court hears
Two-year-old Ethan Ives-Griffiths died in hospital on August 16 2021, two days after an ambulance was called to the North Wales home of his grandparents Kerry Ives, 46, and Michael Ives, 47, where he was living along with his mother Shannon Ives, 28. A trial at Mold Crown Court has heard Ethan suffered 'catastrophic head injuries' and was severely underweight when he died. Social worker Michael Cornish, from Flintshire County Council, said he first visited Shannon Ives on July 22 2021 at her parents' home in Garden City in Deeside, Flintshire. The court heard the mother moved back in with her parents after she 'fled' her home in Mold due to domestic violence. Ethan Ives-Griffiths (North West Police/PA) Mr Cornish said Ethan was on the child protection register, which meant he had to be seen every 10 days. He said on his first visit he saw Ethan in the back garden of the property and described him as 'a small two-year-old boy who was quite shy'. He said Michael Ives, who stood with his daughter as he spoke to her, said words to the effect of: 'He's the quiet one, he doesn't say anything.' Mr Cornish told the court he contacted Shannon Ives to arrange another visit on August 5 but, following a conversation about isolating due to Covid, he only saw her on the doorstep and was told Ethan and one of his siblings were 'having a nap'. The court heard his visit lasted almost 45 minutes. Mr Cornish said: 'During the visit I asked to see the children again but they were still asleep.' He said it was either Shannon Ives or her mother Kerry Ives who told him Ethan was asleep. He added: 'This was a time when it was Covid. 'It was very difficult, we had to be very careful with entering properties. 'For whatever reason I accepted those children were still asleep.' On August 12 he said he arranged with health visitor Ellie Jones to go to the house for another visit but there was no answer at the door. He tried to phone Shannon Ives the following day but there was no answer, the court heard. Mr Cornish said he then went on leave, but emailed his manager to provide an update on the case and to say somebody needed to see the children. Michael and Kerry Ives, of Kingsley Road, Garden City, deny murder, an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. Shannon Ives, of Nant Garmon, Mold, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. The trial will continue on Thursday.
Wales Online
5 days ago
- Wales Online
Taking Ethan Ives-Griffiths to Tesco instead of the doctor was 'incomprehensible'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info It was "incomprehensible" that the grandparents of a toddler who "collapsed" failed to seek medical help and took him to Tesco instead, a murder trial jury heard today. Dr Sarah Dixon, a consultant paediatrician, said that failure was "motivated in part by a desire to avoid professionals making a diagnosis of child abuse". Dr Dixon was giving evidence on day eight of the trial of Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, who are accused the of murdering their grandson Ethan Ives-Griffiths. The couple, of Kingsley Road, Garden City, Deeside, deny murdering Ethan at their home in August 2021. They and their daughter Shannon Ives, 28, of Nant Garmon, Mold, all deny other charges of causing or inciting the death of a child, and cruelty to a child under 16. You can sign up for all the latest court stories here Mold Crown Court has heard Ethan sustained 40 external injuries akin to those in the victim of a high speed traffic collision. The prosecution say Ethan suffered what would prove to be a fatal head injury was on August 14, before his death at Alder Hey children's hospital on August 16. You can follow all the latest updates from the trial on our liveblog here. Dr Dixon told prosecutor Caroline Rees KC the "very high number of injuries was an outlier from what would be expected during day to day life". She said Ethan had an "extremely high number of bruises". She said: "The high number of the bruises co-existing with the head injuries and abdominal injuries lead me to the conclusion that they were inflicted, non-accidental injuries due to blunt force impacts." (Image: North Wales Police handout) She also said Ethan was "very underweight" and he had a "perilously low" body mass index (BMI). She said 99.6 per cent of boys of that age would be heavier. He had a body mass index of 11.8. Dr Dixon said Ethan's weight would put in jeopardy the chemical balance for his heart function. Others with a similar BMI would have been "critically ill" and at a "risk of death". Dr Dixon said Ethan's carers should have sought medical help from a GP at a much earlier stage. She told the court that Ethan's grandparents and mother had been "grossly neglectful" in their care of the two-year-old. 'Extraordinary' Dr Dixon said it was likely Ethan had bleeding and a brain injury in CCTV footage of him trampolining from August 4, 2021. "The footage supports that Ethan had suffered an inflicted traumatic head injury on or prior to 4 August in addition to the fatal inflicted traumatic head injury inflicted on 14 August," she told the court. Taking him to Tesco later was "extraordinary", she said. Ethan was also "manhandled" by being carried into a car by Michael Ives which was "humiliating" and put his arm at risk of being dislocated, Dr Dixon said. She said it was "incomprehensible" that capable adults sought to "self-manage" a collapse by Ethan on August 13. But Dr Dixon added: "The failure to seek health care is likely to have been motivated in part by a desire to avoid professionals making a diagnosis of child abuse." David Elias KC, representing Michael Ives, put it to Dr Dixon that studies show "52 to 87 per cent" of children of walking age have bruises with a range of one to 27 bruises. Dr Dixon agreed. He also suggested that Ethan's chipped tooth, torn frenulum (skin under the lip attached to gum) and lip injuries could have been sustained accidentally. Dr Dixon said Ethan was independently mobile so could have been injured himself that way although Ethan may not have had the reflexes, because of an earlier injury, to save himself after a fall. Dr Dixon also agreed Ethan bit his lip at times. The trial continues. Find crime figures for your area
