Is little Lola another child victim of lockdown? Social services failed to visit squalid home of tragic two-year-old girl who was murdered by her evil stepfather during Covid shutdown despite their concerns - as mother who let him move in faces jail

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An evil stepfather has been found guilty of murdering his two-year-old stepdaughter within months of moving into her squalid home - which social services failed to check up on due to Covid restrictions. 

Sinead James, 30, moved her partner Kyle Bevan, 31, into the house she shared with little Lola James in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, a day after meeting him on Facebook in February 2020.

Swansea Crown Court heard Bevan, who had a 'Jekyll and Hyde' temper, carried out a 'frenzied and extremely violent attack' on the young girl just four months later, causing 101 bruises and scratches and a catastrophic injury to the brain. 

Lola's mother was a victim of domestic abuse and had twice been educated on how to spot signs of an abuser, but chose to prioritise her relationship with Bevan over the safety of her child, the jury was told - before they convicted her of allowing Lola's death. 

James was told by the local authority not to invite adults into the family home if she did not know them well or if they were alcohol or drug abusers, but she ignored their advice. 

A mother and her 'monster' boyfriend have been found guilty over the death of two-year-old Lola James (pictured) who was fatally attacked at her home in Wales

Lola's stepfather, Kyle Bevan, 31, (pictured left), denied murdering the youngster a few months after moving in with the family in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, with her mother Sinead James (right). 

Photographs of the home showed old takeaway boxes and cigarette buts on a wooden table

READ MORE: Child victims of lockdown: From Star Hobson to Arthur Labinjo-Hughes... the youngsters killed during the Covid shutdowns despite desperate pleas to social services to intervene 

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, aged just six, was murdered in June 2020 after being abused for months during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown

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Bevan, a self-confessed 'spice head', moved into the property the same month social services visited and raised concerns about the conditions of the house - however the authorities failed to return before Lola's murder due to the Covid lockdown. 

James, of Neyland, denied causing or allowing the death of a child. Bevan, of Aberystwyth, denied murder. The pair were both found guilty after a jury took little over ten hours to reach their verdict. 

The case bears a similarity to scores of other children who were neglected by agencies during the height of the Covid pandemic and ultimately ended up murdered, including Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Logan Mwangi and Star Hobson. 

The last face-to-face visit to Lola's home in February 2020 stemmed from a multi-agency referral a month earlier, following a domestic incident involving James's former partner. 

The court heard James twice enrolled on the Freedom Programme, which offers advice to victims on how to spot the signs of an abuser - but the mother-of-three said she left the course in January 2020 because 'they were telling me the same stuff.' 

Asked whether Bevan showed any signs of being an aggressor, James said he had 'some of them', but later said: 'I never thought they were in major danger... I never thought he would hurt my children.' 

James had attempted to carry out domestic violence checks on Bevan using Clare's Law the day before the fatal attack on Lola but he refused to give her his date of birth.

The court heard Bevan said: 'I don't have to give it to you. They won't find anything on me.'

After the murder, Bevan lied to police to say the family dog pushed Lola down the stairs after the child suffered 101 injuries and a catastrophic brain injury.

Pictured: Sinead James smoking outside Swansea Crown Court, Wales, on March 7

Bevan blamed Lola's injuries on the family dog (pictured with Sinead James) knocking Lola down the stairs

The trial was shown shocking pictures of the squalid home at Swansea Crown Court

The court heard Lola had previously sustained injuries including a damaged nose, black eyes and a cut lip while in Bevan's care

NSPCC Cymru's assistant director Tracey Holdsworth said a review into Lola's death must establish whether more could have been done by agencies to prevent her death and called for the Welsh Government to make child protection a national priority. 

Ms Holdsworth said: 'This is another tragic case where a young child has died at the hands of those who she depended on.

'Lola deserved a happy and healthy future, but that was cruelly taken away by the horrendous actions of Kyle Bevan and the failure of her mother, Sinead James, to intervene.

'The Welsh Government has rightly committed to transforming children's social care and it's crucial this leads to systemic changes that ensure children like Lola are better protected.'

Text messages read out at court showed James once told Bevan that Lola was 'doing her head in', before she added: 'I'll throw her out the window.' 

In another text, killer Bevan wrote to James: 'Too many kids in the house. Just doing my head in'.

He later claimed Lola fell out of her cot while she was under his care. 

He told James: 'She was stood in her cot, and she dropped to the floor really quickly. She bit her lip on the way down. I tried to help but she kicked off. I feel like you don't trust me anymore.'

'Lola needs to get used to me babe, I am not the devil, I think the world of that little girl,' another said.

Police said: 'Sinead James struck up a new relationship with Kyle Bevan in February 2020 and allowed him into her life, moving in with her after only knowing each other for a day – there was then a period of lockdown where Kyle Bevan remained and lived within Sinead James' household.

The morning of July 17, Bevan sent his mother a disturbing 22-second film of him trying to prop up a clearly unconscious and severely injured Lola. When she fell to the floor with a thud, he said: 'She's gone. She's gone'

James (pictured) and Bevan were both found guilty after a jury took over ten hours to decide their verdict at Swansea Crown Court

Tributes and toys left outside of the house where Lola James was living in Haverfordwest, Wales, after her death in 2020

'Neither Bevan or James were open to any agency at that time and there was no external professional assessment of their new relationship.'

James was also was warned her boyfriend was dangerous just eight days before he carried out the fatal attack.

His ex-partner's mother messaged James on Facebook to say Bevan was a 'child protection risk', telling her: 'I'm concerned about the fact that he is around your children.'

When police asked James in January 2021 what steps she had taken to protect Lola, the mother said she 'never thought' her daughter was 'in major danger'. She maintained that her daughter was 'safe with me'.

Lola was rushed to hospital with 101 surface injuries and a catastrophic brain injury on July 17, 2020

James said Bevan woke her to say that Lola had fallen down the stairs (pictured), and presented a piece of her daughter's tongue on his finger

Lola James held by her biological father Daniel Thomas. In a statement after the verdict, he said: 'The pain and grief I feel every time I close my eyes and see your perfect little face is unbearable'

The Crown Prosecution Service also issued this picture, which shows an unwashed onesie

It was accepted that James was asleep at the time and did not take part in the vicious assault that led to her daughter's death. 

Yet it was the prosecution's case that James failed to protect Lola from Bevan, 'instead choosing to prioritise her relationship with him over her own daughter's physical safety'.

The court heard Bevan had a 'nasty and violent temper' and had failed to call an ambulance immediately and instead filmed a 'disturbing 22-second film' of seriously injured Lola as he tried to prop her up.

The footage was taken 26 minutes after Bevan had already carried out a series of internet searches at 6.32am on July 17, 2020.

One search said: 'My two-year-old child has just taken a bang to the head and gone all limp and snoring. What's wrong.'

Prosecutor Caroline Rees KC said: 'He needed the time to cover his tracks. When paramedics arrived they found that Lola had been dressed but was wet and that Lola was seriously ill.'

Bevan later messaged James to ask, 'how are we both going to go to sleep and chill later?', when police boarded the house as a crime scene.  

The court heard Lola died from her injuries four days later at Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff.

Mrs Rees said: 'Bruises were noted on Lola's forehead. Kyle Bevan continued to try and explain things away by blaming the family dog for pushing Lola downstairs.'

The court heard doctors found 101 surface injuries on Lola including 'bruising all over her little body and grazing of the skin.'

She also suffered extensive damage to every part of both retinas along with a catastrophic brain injury.

Photos from police crime scene investigators showed a 'clean and shiny bath' while the rest of the house was piled with clutter and toys.

James said Bevan told her he used to be a 'spice head' while also confessing to taking amphetamines, tranquilliser Xanax and cannabis.

A search of the house revealed a 'child's wet and vomit and blood stained grey onesie' in the living room and curtains and a sheet in the washing machine.

The court heard Lola had suffered previous injuries when left alone with Bevan - but her mum said she had no concerns over her daughter's safety.

She said: 'He was really good. He would cook her dinner. He would do stuff with her. He was always buying her stuff she didn't need but he would treat her.'

The court heard James had witnessed Bevan 'smashing up the house' in May 2020, after he flew into an alcohol and drugs-fuelled rage but she allowed him to stay living in the home.

The court heard Lola had previously sustained injuries including a damaged nose, black eyes and a cut lip while in Bevan's care. 

Judge Mr Justice Griffiths adjourned the sentencing for April 25 for pre-sentence reports.

He told Bevan: 'There is only one sentence for murder and that is life imprisonment.'

Lola James's biological father, Daniel Thomas, said in statement released by Dyfed-Powys Police: 'The pain and grief I feel every time I close my eyes and see your perfect little face is unbearable.

'The pain I feel thinking of all the smiles you gave to me and all the smiles I won't get a chance to give back to you hurts so much.

'Even to say your name shatters my heart to know you can't hear my voice anymore, the only reason I can stand here today is for hope that you can see me, see that you were loved and that you deserved to live a full, happy, safe life surrounded by the joy that you gave to others.

'I'm so sorry your short life was filled with so much pain. You are so loved Lola and so missed every single day. 

'A great team with much passion has worked together for this day since you've left us.

'Special thanks to the investigation team for not leaving any question unanswered or stone unturned, and to my family support officers for keeping me focused and guiding me through the darkest hours along with my closest friends and family.

'The outcome here will never stop the hurt you felt or the hurt that lives inside of me, it's been a long time coming to see justice and I can only pray that these cruel, evil people that hurt you and allowed you to be hurt, suffer pain and torment until they take their last breath.'

Nicola James, Lola's maternal grandmother, said in a statement after the guilty verdicts were read: 'We would like to thank the police, local authority and all involved for everything they have done to get us to this point. 

'We will be forever grateful for the support we have received from our Family Liaison Officers and the support we have received from Sandy Bears.

'My last memory with Lola is hearing her singing the song 'Diamonds' by Rhianna. 

'She will forever be our diamond up in the sky, we will never ever forget her, and we will continue to keep her memory alive. 

'We write her letters, and we talk to her in the sky at night.

'As a family we will never get over this, the loss that we feel is indescribable. 

'We haven't begun to process all of this, and don't know how we ever will.

'Lola we love you, we will always love you, and we will miss you forever.'

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Gareth Roberts of Dyfed-Powys Police welcomed the verdict and said: 'Our thoughts at this time are with Lola and the family who loved her.

'Lola died on July 21, 2020, as a result of horrendous injuries which were inflicted by Kyle Bevan in what must have been a frenzied and extremely violent attack on a helpless two-year-old child.

'Lola had 101 external injuries to her body and her death was caused by a catastrophic brain injury, likely caused by blunt force trauma – punching or slapping – shaking, or a combination of both.

'Bevan delayed raising the alarm and seeking medical attention for at least an hour after he inflicted the fatal injuries and in the time since he has shown no remorse, emotion or any care for Lola. 

'Consumed by his own self-preservation, Bevan lied and fabricated an accidental stair fall to try and cover his tracks but, with the help of medical experts, we have been able to prove that his actions were deliberate, abhorrent and evil.

'Lola should have been able to rely on her own mother to keep her safe from harm and physical risk. 

'However, Sinead James seriously failed in her duty towards her daughter. 

'She was, or at least ought to have been, well aware of the risk of violence which Bevan posed to her child but did nothing to protect Lola from the danger which he presented.

'This investigation commenced after police officers were called to Princess Royal Way in Haverfordwest on Friday, July 17, 2020 to a report of an injured two-year-old child, falsely presented by Bevan as a stair fall.

'Tragically, Lola James had suffered a significant brain injury and died three days later on July 20. 

'Medical experts subsequently noted 101 separate injuries to her body, most of which were determined as abusive inflicted injuries - they were deemed to be non-accidental and not consistent with a stair fall.

'Concerns were raised from the outset and an investigation was commenced that has been complex, exhaustive and emotionally demanding for all professionals due to the clear horrific abuse of a vulnerable child.

'A significant volume of probative evidence was gathered that contradicted the lies of Bevan, with compelling medical expert opinion being critical.

'Specialist officers have supported Lola's close family throughout the difficult and distressing investigation.

'I'd like to thank the community, many of which were brave to provide important witness testimony.

'I'd also like to personally thank Lola's family for the respectful manner that they have conducted themselves as this difficult investigation progressed. 

'The love for Lola is clear and it is a tragedy that will be difficult to overcome, however, I hope this outcome brings some comfort.'

NSPCC Cymru's assistant director Tracey Holdsworth said: 'This is another tragic case where a young child has died at the hands of those who she depended on.

'We can all look out for children's welfare, and anyone concerned about a child can call the NSPCC free helpline on 0808 800 5000, or email [email protected].

'If a child is in immediate danger, please call 999.'