Logan Mwangi: teenager and step-parents jailed for murdering boy, 5, and dumping his battered body in river

Logan had suffered 56 external cuts and bruises, and “catastrophic” internal injuries, which were likened to a high-speed road accident
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The mother and stepfather of five-year-old Logan Mwangi have been jailed for his murder.

The battered body of Logan was found in the River Ogmore in Pandy Park by police on the morning of 31 July last year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The youngster, previously described as a smiling, cheerful little boy”, was partially submerged in the water, wearing dinosaur pyjama bottoms and a Spider-Man top just 250 metres from his home.

Logan Mwangi was found dumped in a river 250 metres from his home (Photo: PA)Logan Mwangi was found dumped in a river 250 metres from his home (Photo: PA)
Logan Mwangi was found dumped in a river 250 metres from his home (Photo: PA)

He had suffered 56 external cuts and bruises, and “catastrophic” internal injuries, which were likened to a high-speed road accident.

Experts said Logan’s injuries could have only been caused by a “brutal and sustained assault” inflicted on him in the hours, or days, prior to his death, and were “consistent with child abuse”.

The name of the teenager has now been released after an anonimity order was lifted by a judge at Cardiff Crown Court.

Jailed for life

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Logan’s stepfather John Cole, 40, was told he would spend at least 29 years behind bars while the youngster’s mother Angharad Williamson, 31, would serve a minimum of 28 years’ imprisonment.

Craig Mulligan, 14, was detained for a minimum of 15 years after also being found guilty of Logan’s murder.

The teenager was initially not able to be named due to an anonymity order in place for children in criminal cases, but this was lifted by a judge at Cardiff Crown Court.

Mulligan carried out the fatal assault on Logan with his stepfather in the flat where they lived in Lower Llansantffraid, Sarn, while his stepmother and the youngster’s biological mother Williamson stood by and “did nothing”.

14-year-old Craig Mulligan was convicted over the death of five-year-old Logan Mwangi. (Credit: PA)14-year-old Craig Mulligan was convicted over the death of five-year-old Logan Mwangi. (Credit: PA)
14-year-old Craig Mulligan was convicted over the death of five-year-old Logan Mwangi. (Credit: PA)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The trio were convicted of killing the little boy in Sarn, Bridgend, South Wales, in April, following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

Both Williamson and the youth were convicted of a further charge of perverting the course of justice – an offence Cole had admitted before trial.

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Jefford said: “You are responsible for Logan’s death and all the anguish that has followed from it.

“Because he was killed in his own home, it is not possible to be sure what has happened to him.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Shortly before his death, at which time he was three feet five inches and weighed only three stone one pound, he was subjected to a brutal attack.”

The judge described the injuries Logan had suffered adding: “Inflicting these injuries on a small, defenceless five-year-old is nothing short of horrific.”

What happened?

In the months and weeks leading up to his death, Logan had been “dehumanised” by his family, prosecutors said.

His stammer is said to have worsened, becoming particularly bad around Cole, he wet himself more frequently and began self-harming.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Friends of the couple said Cole told them he did not like Logan, while others said his attitude changed after becoming obsessed with the idea that Williamson had cheated with Logan’s father Ben Mwangi.

After Williamson gave birth to his own child, Cole was reluctant to let Logan see the baby and later claimed the boy had tried to smother the infant.

In August 2020, medics made a safeguarding referral to the police after Logan suffered a broken arm and by March, the five-year-old and his younger sibling had been assigned their own social worker due to concerns over Cole’s behaviour.

In June, a month before Logan died, the family were removed from the child protection register, meaning authorities believed there was no longer a risk of significant harm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A foster family whom the youth stayed with claimed to have heard him say he wanted to kill Logan, and a support worker also heard the youth singing: “I love kids, I f****** love kids, I love to punch kids in the head, it’s orgasmic.”

Weeks before he died, Logan suffered a broken collarbone but he never got medical treatment.

He tested positive for Covid on 20 July and was shut in his bedroom with a baby gate barring him from leaving.

Caroline Rees QC, prosecuting, said: “He had been kept like a prisoner in his small bedroom in the flat you saw, a room likened by Williamson as a dungeon.”

Related topics: