Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ryan Merrifield

Harrowing 999 calls made in aftermath of killer stepdad's murderous attack on girl, 2

The harrowing 999 calls made after two-year-old Lola James was brutally beaten by her stepdad have been released by police.

Evil Kyle Bevan was today jailed for life to serve a minimum of 28 years of prison for the toddlers' murder.

The child's twisted mum, Sinead James, has been sentenced to six years - though will only spend three locked up - for causing or allowing her daughter’s death.

Bevan's mother Alison phoned 999 at 7.29am on July 17, 2020 after her son had sent her a photo of Lola limp and unresponsive.

Concerned by the picture, Mrs Bevan, who was not in the house, rang for an ambulance on her son's behalf.

She told the operator: "She's floppy and they can't wake her up.....(pause) I'm not with the patient. They've just contacted me now to call an ambulance as they haven't got credit on their phone.....I don't know the exact time, it must have just happened."

Two-year-old Lola James was brutally beaten to death by her stepdad (PA)
The toddler's mum was in the house at the time of the attack but failed to stop it (Media Wales)

Two minutes later, at 7.31am, an emotional sounding James then called 999, sobbing: "Her eyes are swollen.......I'm really scared. (She fell) from the top of the stairs to the bottom."

After being asked if there was any serious bleeding, she replied: "No.....There's just bruising on her head and it's all swollen and her eyes....."

James is then told to stay on the line and not to move to her daughter.

Paramedics then arrived at the house at 7.34am, before taking Lola to hospital.

Sinead James was jailed for three years (Dyfed-Powys Police)
Kyle Bevan was jailed for life (Dyfed-Powys Police)

Recordings of the 999 calls were played for jurors during the trial at Swansea Crown Court, before they found both defendants guilty on April 4.

Jurors had previously been told that prior to the 999 call, Google searches were carried out at 6.32am on Bevan’s phone about toddlers who have taken a "bang" to the head and have "gone all limp and snoring ".

Then at 6.54am Bevan sent his mother a picture of the unconscious Lola via Facebook Messenger - with her replying to the message and telling him to call an ambulance.

Bevan was later asked by police why he didn't phone 999 straight away himself, and he said: "I panicked like, look what happened when 999 was called. Look at all this, I didn’t want to push… I thought she knocked herself out but obviously it was more serious than that…"

Bodycam footage of Bevan speaking to police (Crown Prosecution Service)

The prosecution suggested the reason Bevan did not raise the alarm immediately was because he was allegedly trying to cover up what he had done.

After the ambulance arrived, Lola was later transferred to Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff.

She died on July 21, with the cause of death given as subdural haemorrhage and brain swelling. One doctor later described Lola’s body as “the most bruised and battered” she had ever seen.

Lola’s injuries could have been caused by “shaking or other force applied to the head”, the trial was told and were highly suggestive of “abusive head trauma” and some form of impact.

A post-mortem revealed she also had external injuries including bruises and grazes "all over her little body".

Bevan denied being responsible for Lola's injuries - telling detectives the family's dog had caused her to fall down the stairs.

As part of her defence, James said she had no idea Bevan would ever cause her daughter harm and she would have left him had she had known.

Jurors were told that while initially believing that her daughter had fallen down the stairs, as referenced in her 999 call, James claimed she had since changed her mind and now believed Bevan had caused the fatal injuries to Lola.

Bevan had claimed the dog knocked Lola down the stairs (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

The court was told that as police began investigating, Bevan sent a message to James urging them to get their stories straight and for her to remember word for word what she was going to say.

During the sentencing, Mr Justice Griffiths told the court: "Kyle Bevan was in a position of trust. Having assumed the role, as he described himself to the ambulance crew, of Lola's stepfather.

"He started to hurt Lola at midnight, and he carried on until she was unconscious at 6.30am.

"He did not stop when Sinead James nearly caught him in the act when she heard Lola's scream at midnight.

"This was a sustained, deliberate and very violent attack. The attack was completely unprovoked. There is no suggestion that Lola was playing up in any way before she was killed.

"For some of the injuries, Kyle Bevan used weapons.

"The attack would have caused both mental and physical pain and suffering before the onset of coma.

"It was the culmination of several months of physical child abuse.

James had tried to argue she felt intimidated by Bevan but this was largely rejected by the judge (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

"I am sure that Kyle Bevan did this as an exercise of power and assertion of superiority over the only person who he could feel superior to, a helpless child."

The judge went on to say James prioritised her relationship with Bevan over the safety of her family.

He said she failed to take effective steps to keep Lola safe, did not disclose the presence of Bevan in the house to the relevant authorities, and he has concluded that she was not coerced or intimidated into having Bevan in the house.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.