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24 Jun 2013

Mother guilty of murdering two-year-old son Keanu

Rebecca Shuttleworth, the mother of two-year-old Keanu Williams, who was found beaten to death in January 2011, has been convicted of his murder.

Keanu Williams, who suffered months of abuse, was found dead in January 2011 at the home of his mother’s boyfriend.

During the trial, the court also heard that Keanu had 37 external marks of injury on his body.

Rebecca Shuttleworth has been convicted of Keanu’s murder at Birmingham crown court.

Her former partner Luke Southerton was cleared of murder, manslaughter and causing or allowing Keanu’s death, but convicted on one count of cruelty.

A six-month trial was told that Keanu was pronounced dead on 9 January, 2011, after paramedics arrived at Southerton’s flat in Old Moat Way, Ward End.

Southerton, 32, and 25-year-old Shuttleworth, formerly of Hay Mills, Birmingham, had both denied any involvement in Keanu’s death.

The todder’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 on the boy up to 48 hours earlier, Shuttleworth did not seek medical help before the 999 call was made at 7.42pm on 9 January.

It is thought Keanu, known to his family as “Kiwi”, suffered his fatal injuries after arriving with his mother to stay at Southerton’s flat on 7 January.

Not an ‘isolated event’

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.

Mr Hotten claimed the fact that Shuttleworth had not sought help for Keanu “until it was too late” was potent evidence that she knew his injuries were “incapable of sensible explanation”.

The majority of the bruising found by pathologists was to Keanu’s lower chest and abdomen, but there were also areas of bruising to the head and back.

A post-mortem examination also identified “tramline” bruising consistent with Keanu having been struck with an object such as a stick or rod with some force.

A fist-sized tear was also found in part of Keanu’s abdomen, which had caused substantial bleeding.