A 14-year-old man involved in the ferocious murder of five-year-old Logan Mwangi was first appointed on Thursday when he was arrested for life.
Craig Mulligan has been described as a “monster” who had made repeated threats to kill his younger half-brother and sang happily about his love to hurt young children.
He was only 13 when he took part in the deadly assault, which he carried out with his stepfather John Cole, 40, before disposing of the young man’s body in the Ogmore River, Bridgend, South Wales.
A Cardiff Crown Court judge told Cole he will spend at least 29 years behind bars. Logan’s biological mother, Angharad Williamson, 31, who was also convicted, was told she would serve a minimum of 28 years in custody.
Mulligan had moved into the house in Lower Llansantffraid, Sarn, just five days before the murder, a fact the prosecutors said was “not a coincidence”.
Cole’s stepson, who had raised him at nine months, was said to have been “idolized” by Mulligan and saw him as a “God-like” figure.
Cole had had a relationship with Mulligan’s mother, and then became her caregiver.
The three moved to Wales for a “new beginning” after Mulligan’s mother’s repeated attempts to take her own life.
They later separated, but remained living in the same house with Mulligan, including while Cole began dating Angharad Williamson, who soon became pregnant.
Caroline Rees QC, a prosecutor, said Mulligan was by then “a complex, problematic and violent boy.”
He was placed with foster families, one of whom described how he made his lives a “hell” during the several weeks he lived with them, and they were “scared” of him.
They said he made repeated threats to kill them, injured his daughter and adoptive mother and her dog.
Concerns escalated further after he asked two young girls if they wanted to play a “murder game” and said they should get inside black trash bags.
Although he spoke affectionately of his stepfather, stepmother, and younger brother, the family said they realized he would only refer to Logan as “the five-year-old,” and spoke of wanting to kill the five-year-old “.
They said he had a “desire for violence” and called him a “monster” in court appearances.
Cole and Williamson asked the family courts to have custody of Mulligan and on July 26 last year they won and he came to live with them.
Mulligan is said to have loved the youngest of his siblings, but he was jealous and disliked Logan.
Mulligan was great for his age and had an interest in mixed martial arts, specifically Muay Thai, as well as video games, his username was “King Hulk”.
Shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday, July 31, Mulligan was captured by CCTV cameras following Cole off the plane and down to the river where they threw Logan’s body.
He also joined in conducting a fake and visible search for Logan as part of the family cover-up.
Mulligan was arrested about 6:30 p.m., Aug. 1, along with Williamson on Cole’s property.
In the interview, he maintained that he did not know what had happened to Logan, but later admitted that he had woken up when he heard Williamson say “Logan is dead.”
After being informed by detectives about Williamson’s allegations that he and Cole had attacked Logan, Mulligan said, “You can tell my mom to fuck me. She’s blaming me and my dad for everything. “.
After Logan was killed and Mulligan was taken over by the local authority, a caregiver heard him sing repeatedly, “I love children. I love children. I love punching the child. none. It’s orgasmic. “
He told another, “I did bad things but I don’t have permission to talk about them.”
During the trial, an anonymity order was issued to Mulligan that prevented him from reporting any details that could identify him.
His lawyer said Mulligan had been diagnosed with multiple neurodevelopmental disorders.
The Ogmore River in Sarn, Bridgend, Wales, in the vicinity where the body of five-year-old Logan Mwangi was discovered.
(PA)
Following his conviction and imprisonment for murder and perverting the course of justice, the press successfully called for the restriction to be removed on grounds of public interest and open justice.
Logan suffered 56 “catastrophic” external injuries similar to those found in victims of a high-speed crash or a fall from a height, the court said.
During Thursday’s sentencing, Judge Jefford said, “Inflicting these injuries on a small, helpless five-year-old is not at all horrible.”
Both Williamson and Mulligan were found guilty of another charge of perverting the course of justice, a crime Cole had admitted before trial.
Angharad Williamson, 31, and John Cole, 40, have been convicted in Cardiff Crown Court.
(South Wales Police)
The young man, described as a “smiling, cheerful little boy,” was found by police on the river on the morning of July 31, partially submerged and dressed in dinosaur pajama pants and a Spider-Man T-shirt.
According to experts, Logan’s injuries could only have been the result of a “brutal and sustained assault” in the hours, or days, before his death.
They also said the injuries were “consistent with child abuse.”
Prosecutors told the court Logan had been “dehumanized” by his family in the months and weeks before his death.
The five-year-old’s stuttering allegedly got worse, becoming especially bad around Cole. He also got wet more often and started to get hurt.
Prosecutors said Logan, 5, was kept “like a prisoner” in his bedroom, a room his mother compared to a “dungeon.”
(PA)
The couple’s friends said Cole told them he didn’t like Logan, and others said his attitude changed after he became obsessed with the idea that Williamson had cheated on Logan’s father, Ben Mwangi.
After Williamson gave birth to her own son, Cole was reluctant to let Logan see the baby and later claimed the boy had tried to suffocate the baby.
Doctors made a safeguard referral to police after Logan broke an arm in August 2020.
Councilor Huw David, leader of Bridgend County City Council, said: “The death of five-year-old Logan Mwangi has been a deeply sad and tragic affair that has affected everyone living in Bridgend County district. .
A memorial garden at Bridgend Tondu Primary School for Logan Mwangi
(PA)
“We are also united in our condemnation of the terrible actions of those who ended Logan’s short life in such a cruel and brutal way, and the great efforts they made to try to hide evidence of what they did. to the authorities.
“During the trial of his killers, Logan was constantly described as a loving, kind and affectionate little boy, polite and popular among his friends and classmates.
“Listening to the tributes from Logan’s father and his school, he was clearly a child who brought joy and laughter to the lives of those he met, and it’s hard to find the right words to express how devastating such a horrible murder is. to have happened in our region “.
Council Executive Director Mark Shephard added: “Now that the trial is over, Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Safeguards Board is leading the task of reviewing children’s practice to allow relevant agencies to assess and consider fully function and determine if there are improvements.to further strengthen the overall standard of local services.
“We are awaiting the findings of the review and, together with our partners, will implement any recommendations it may contain to ensure that we can provide the best and most effective services possible to the local community.”
Additional information from the Press Association