Alfie Phillips joins a heartbreaking rollcall of children killed in lockdown after the tragic deaths of Star Hobson, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Kaylea Titford

Alfie Phillips, the 18-month-old toddler whose parents were today jailed for life for beating and smothering him to death, is one of a growing list of children killed in lockdown.

As millions of Brits were confined to their homes at the height of the Covid pandemic for their own safety, little Alfie suffered a ‘myriad of bruises’, broken ribs, arms and legs, after a barbaric attack in his stepfather’s caravan.

Traces of cocaine and alcohol were also found in Alfie’s system, as his mother, Sian Hedges, blamed the restrictions for increasing her anxiety, which compelled her to take drugs on a weekly basis. 

It follows a familiar, grim pattern of abusive parents using lockdown ‘as a cover’ to carry out their cruelty, with similar violence dished out to a host of other young victims including Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, whose cases tugged at the heartstrings of a nation.

Experts have explained how usual safeguarding methods or chances to spot serious abuse such as schools, health workers and children’s clubs were absent or moved online during the pandemic, meaning abusers could harm children in their care with impunity. 

18-month-old Alfie Phillips was beaten to death and smothered in an overnight attack by his mother and her former partner after a night of ‘violent discipline’

Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother’s girlfriend Savannah Brockill in September 2020

Five-year-old Logan Mwangi was murdered by his mother, step-father and teenage step-brother on July 31, 2021

Five-year-old Alijah Thomas begged her mother Martina Madarova, 41, not to kill her as she strangled her to death at their home in Ealing, west London

The case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes shook the nation for its sheer depravity when the six-year-old was murdered by his cruel stepmother Emma Tustin on 17 June, 2020

On October 10, 2019 Kyrell Matthews, aged two, was left with 41 rib fractures and internal injuries by the time of his death

Aflie joins a heartbreaking rollcall of children killed in lockdown, including two-year-old Kyrell Matthews, who was left with 41 rib fractures and internal injuries by the time of his death after weeks of cruelty at the hands of his mother Phylesia Shirley and her boyfriend Kemar Brown. 

Meanwhile, the case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who was poisoned and tortured in what should have been a safe home, shook the nation for its sheer depravity when the six-year-old was murdered by his cruel stepmother Emma Tustin on 17 June, 2020.

She was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 29 years and the boy’s father Thomas Hughes was jailed for 21 years for manslaughter.

Similarly, Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother’s girlfriend Savannah Brockill in September 2020.

In the lead-up to her death, she had suffered months of abuse in her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, during the coronavirus lockdown in 2020.

Elsewhere, two-year-old Lola James was tragically killed by her evil stepfather, suffering 101 injuries including brain damage similar to what is sustained in high-speed car crashes in July 17, 2020.

Then on October 10, 2020 16-year-old, Kaylea Titford, who suffered from spina bifida, was found dead at her home in Newtown, Powys, after her parents allowed her to become morbidly obese during lockdown.

In another tragic example, five-year-old Logan Mwangi was murdered by his mother, step-father and teenage step-brother on July 31, 2021.

His body, which suffered 56 ‘catastrophic’ injuries consistent with a ‘brutal and sustained assault’ was found in the River Ogmore near his home in Sarn, Bridgend county.

Alijah Thomas, five, who begged her mother Martina Madarova, 41, not to kill her as she strangled her to death at their home in Ealing, west London, on September 14, 2021 is another victim.

Sian Hedges, 27, will face life imprisonment for the murder, which took place in Benham’s caravan in Hernhill, near Faversham, Kent

Jack Benham, 35, of Hernhill, Kent, and Hedges, of Yelverton, Devon, will be sentenced on December 19

The boy was discovered blue and floppy on the morning of November 28 2020, and paramedics said it was ‘immediately apparent’ to them that Alfie had been dead for some time

Benham (pictured) said they left the toddler to fall asleep without being cuddled, while together they drank whisky and Coke, ‘getting drunk, but not too drunk’

The court had heard from Jack Benham, Alfie’s stepfather, how he and Hedges began their relationship around September 2020 through meeting regularly at the same friend’s house where they would buy drugs. 

Tests showed the pair had used cocaine and Hedges admitted to police she had taken a £40 bag over the course of three hours after Alfie went to sleep, the prosecution said. Benham also said he smoked some cannabis, which he did regularly. 

The boy was discovered blue and floppy on the morning of November 28 2020, and paramedics said it was ‘immediately apparent’ to them that Alfie had been dead for some time.

The youngster was taken back to the caravan at 7pm and was not seen again by anyone other than Benham and Hedges until about 11.30am the following morning. It was during these hours Alfie was brutally murdered by the pair. 

He said they left him to fall asleep without being cuddled, while together they drank whisky and Coke, ‘getting drunk, but not too drunk’, with Hedges telling police they had their last drink at about 1am and then went to sleep in the same bed as Alfie.

Benham told police Alfie was ‘whingey and upset’ when he was put to bed between 7pm and 8pm on the night of Friday, November 27. 

The despicable pair denied harming Alife on the night that the toddler had his life cruelly snatched away from him, with Hedges and Benham pointing the finger at each other.

Hedges said Alfie stirred but went back to sleep with his dummy. She said he was ‘fine and normal’. She then recalled Benham woke her up saying ‘What the f***’s wrong with him? Oh my God. He’s under my leg’ 

The court heard Benham, who is not Alfie’s father, said he thought he had suffocated him.

Hedges said Alfie was floppy and his lips looked blue and she had a gut feeling he was dead but denied having caused him any injury and said she had no idea how Alfie could have fractured his arms or sustained any serious injury.

But Jurors had heard about older injuries Alfie sustained in the months before his death , such as a cut under Alfie’s eye which was explained by the toddler playing with keys and his fingers being caught in the dog gate in Benham’s parents’ home. 

A skeletal survey and post-mortem examinations indicated many of the breaks to his bones would have occurred in the hours before Alfie’s death. 

In interviews, Benham told police he did not consider himself a step-father figure and rarely did anything for Alfie.

He described Alfie as a ‘mummy’s boy’ and admitted he did not like him. But during the trial he claimed he treated the toddler like ‘one of my own’.

Jurors reached a unanimous guilty verdict for the murder of little Alfie following deliberations that took nearly 10 hours, that began on Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC had told jurors: ‘It is clear that he had been deliberately injured on more than one occasion, culminating in an assault perpetrated on him during the night of 27 to 28 November 2020 that led to his death.’

She added: ‘Jack Benham and Sian Hedges were in the caravan together throughout the night.

‘Had either defendant not been joining in with the assaults, that defendant who was not part of it would have stopped the attack and removed Alfie Phillips from the caravan, and from the presence of the other who was carrying out these attacks.

‘The fact that this did not happen can only be because both defendants agreed that the assaults should take place…they both agreed in meting out some sort of aggressive, violent discipline to Alfie that night which resulted in his death.’

Speaking after the verdicts were announced, Alfie’s family told of the anguish of having to endure a three-year wait for justice, with many questions still unanswered.

They said: ‘We have had to listen to the horrific details of what Sian and Jack did to Alfie, how they assaulted him again and again.

‘He suffered so much pain. In these years, we have not had the closure, and even after the trial we feel that we still deserve answers.

‘The only people with these answers are Sian and Jack but they have refused to say what happened to him.

‘Still to this day, they have refused to take responsibility.

‘They have never shown any remorse for what they did, and we will never know the truth about what happened to Alfie.

‘Alfie was so cruelly taken from us that day. Every day we are hurting. Our shining light, that shone so bright, will always be in our hearts.

Kaylea Titford, 16, who suffered from spina bifida, was found dead at her home in Newtown, Powys, after her parents allowed her to become morbidly obese during lockdown

Two-year-old Lola James was tragically killed by her evil stepfather, suffering 101 injuries including brain damage 

‘We have such special memories of our short time with Alfie and these memories keep us going on the darkest of days.’

Alfie was described as ‘good as gold’ and ‘lively’ by his father, Sam Phillips, adding there was ‘never a dull moment’ with the toddler, who he said was always playing and laughing.

Benham, of Hernhill, Kent, and Hedges, of Yelverton, Devon, will be sentenced on December 19.

READ MORE: Heartbreaking rollcall of children who became victims of lockdown: As case of little Lola sparks urgent review – how Star Hobson, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Kaylea Titford were all failed by those meant to protect them 

Reacting to the verdict, Kent Police’s senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Kath Way, said: ‘Today’s verdict will not bring Alfie back, but it does mean that Hedges and Benham lose their right to freedom and life as they know it.

‘Alfie should have been protected and loved by his mum, instead Hedges and Benham inflicted unimaginable suffering on him during a sustained and lengthy night of violence.’

She added that the pair refused to admit what they had done and instead subjected Alfie’s family to a trial where details of ‘horrendous abuse’ were detailed.

‘Alfie would have been four now and would have recently started school. Instead, his life was cruelly taken away by those he should have been able to trust the most.’

An NSPCC spokesperson also commenting on ‘heart-breaking’ case said the cruelty inflicted on Alfie is ‘devastating’.

They added: ‘We know that very young children are particularly vulnerable to abuse because they are completely reliant on the adults around them for care and protection.

‘It is so important that anyone who is worried about a child’s safety speaks out about their concerns. People can contact the local authority, the police or the NSPCC Helpline.’

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