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Court Papers Show How Judge Gave Baby Back to EVIL Killer Parents
EVIL Parents GUILTY of Murdering Baby on Christmas Day After Burning and Beating Him
Finley Boden: Parents Murdered Baby Placed Back Into Their Care
Finley Boden died at the hands of his parents, Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden, who left the ten-month-old with over 130 injuries as they burned and beat him
BBC News 15 APR 2023
Finley, pictured on 30 November 2020, less than four weeks before he was killed.
Finley was found to have suffered 130 "appalling" injuries.
The parents of a 10-month-old boy have been convicted of murdering him - 39 days after he was placed back into their care.
Stephen Boden and partner Shannon Marsden killed Finley Boden on Christmas Day in 2020....
A jury found the pair, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, guilty of murder following a trial at Derby Crown Court on Friday. Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden were convicted at Derby Crown Court. They will be sentenced on 26 May.
The couple were responsible for what the court heard was the "savage and brutal" murder of their son after burning and beating him in repeated acts of violence.
Finley's injuries included 57 breaks to his bones, 71 bruises and two burns on his left hand - one "from a hot, flat surface", the other probably "from a cigarette lighter flame".
He collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest at the family's "cluttered" and filthy terraced home in Holland Road, Old Whittington - with faeces later found in the bedroom.
Paramedics were called there in the early hours of Christmas Day and Finley was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
When the verdicts were read out, Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden showed no reaction.
Judge Mrs Justice Tipples held back tears as she addressed the jury and thanked them for their "extremely impressive" conduct throughout the trial.
As she spoke, at least four jury members were in tears, and all were excused from taking part in jury service again for life, due to the distressing nature of the case.
Child protection concerns meant Finley was taken from his parents shortly after he was born in February 2020.
But later that year, he was returned to their care through a court order following an eight-week transition, despite social workers asking for a six-month period.
The court heard the pair worked together to keep professionals away from Finley to protect each other and to cover up serious violence.
This included cancelling a health visitor appointment two days before he died and telling social services when they arrived unannounced that Finley may have Covid-19 and refusing to let them in.
A child safeguarding review into the circumstances surrounding Finley's death is currently under way.
A spokeswoman for Derbyshire County Council said it would be "fully engaged" with the independent review, adding it would "not be appropriate" to comment further until it was complete.
Main bedroom with litter and unwashed plates
Police described the conditions Finley was living in as "filthy"
The court heard both Boden, 30, and Marsden, 22, were regular and heavy users of cannabis, who prioritised getting money to spend on the drug over their son's care.
Toxicology tests showed cannabis was found in Finley's blood, indicating that he must have inhaled smoke in the 24 hours before his death, the court was told.
The court was shown text messages sent from the couple's shared mobile phone - with jurors told the author of each message was not always clear.
In one message to a contact saved as "Smokey J" at 12:39 GMT on 23 December 2020, the author said the "little one" had "kept me up all night".
The message added: "I want to bounce him off the walls. Haha."
Filthy bathroom
Police documented the state of the home Finley was living in as part of their investigation
After Finley died, Boden was heard telling Marsden at hospital he was going to sell Finley's pushchair "on eBay" - but later told police he only said it "in an effort to lighten the mood".
Prosecutor Mary Prior KC said Boden later told a relative that Finley had been crying, so "in his words, he 'shook him a little bit'".
But she added Marsden, visiting Finley's body in a hospital chapel of rest on 11 January 2021, said: "His dad's battered him to death. I didn't protect him."
Boden had claimed the family dog may have "jumped on" his son, inflicting broken ribs, while a tear to the inside of Finley's mouth - likely caused by a dummy being rammed in - was blamed on the child hitting himself with a rattle.
A child safeguarding review into the circumstances surrounding Finley's death is currently under way
Det Insp Stephen Shaw, who led the police investigation, said: "Finley Boden died in what should have been the safest place in the world for him - his own home.
"No verdict or jail sentence will bring Finley back, however, we now know the truth of what happened to him, and justice has been delivered."
THEY WILL RECEIVE A VERY 'WARM' WELCOME FROM THE OTHER INMATES....
Finley Boden's Final Hours
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