39 days after being returned to the care of the parents of a 10-month-old boy, they were found guilty of his murder.
On Christmas Day in 2020, Finley Boden was murdered by Stephen Boden and his partner Shannon Marsden.
It was discovered that Finley had 130 “appalling” wounds. Among his wounds were 57 broken bones, 71 bruises, and two burns on his left hand, one “from a hot, flat surface” and the other most likely “from a cigarette lighter flame”.
On Friday, April 14, a trial at Derby Crown Court concluded with a verdict of guilty by a jury for the parents, who are from Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
When their 10-month-old son was returned to their custody, the parents killed him.
They will receive their punishment afterwards.
According to testimony given in court, the couple repeatedly burned and beat their son before killing him in a “savage and brutal” manner.
Finley lost consciousness after having a heart arrest at the family’s Old Whittington house on Holland Road.
In the early hours of Christmas Day, paramedics were rushed to the scene. Finley was then transported to a hospital, where he was later declared dead.
When their 10-month-old son was returned to their custody, the parents killed him.
As she addressed the jury and congratulated them for their “extremely impressive” behavior during the trial, Judge Mrs. Justice Tipples fought back tears.
Following his birth in February 2020, Finley was taken from his parents due to worries for his safety.
But later that year, after an eight-week transition, he was legally restored to his parents’ custody through a court order, despite social workers’ requests for a six-month time.
According to testimony given in court, the two collaborated to prevent Finley from being seen by experts in order to protect one another and hide violent crimes.
This includes canceling a scheduled visit with a health visitor two days prior to his passing and informing social services when they showed up unexpectedly that Finley might have Covid-19 and refusing to let them inside.
The circumstances surrounding Finley’s death are currently the subject of a child protection review.
Derbyshire County Council would be “fully engaged” in the assessment, according to a spokesman.
The representative continued, “This is a statutory legal process, formerly known as a serious case review, which thoroughly examines the actions of all authorities following the death of a child.
“The review is being conducted independently, and it would not be appropriate for us to comment further until that review is complete to ensure we do not pre-empt its findings.”
According to testimony given in court, Boden, 30, and Marsden, 22, were both frequent and heavy cannabis users who put their son’s care behind earning money to buy the drug.
According to toxicology results, Finley must have consumed marijuana in the 24 hours prior to his death because cannabis was discovered in his blood, the court was informed.
The couple’s shared cell phone was used to send the texts, which were displayed in court.
At 12:39 GMT on December 23, 2020, the sender sent a message to a contact saved as “Smokey J,” claiming that the “little one” had “kept me up all night.”
“I want to bounce him off the walls,” the message said. Haha.”
Boden told police that he simply said it “in an effort to lighten the mood” after hearing Marsden overhear him telling Boden that he was going to sell Finley’s stroller “on eBay” at the hospital after Finley passed away.
Boden later informed a family member that Finley had been weeping, so “in his words, he’shook him a little bit,'” according to prosecutor Mary Prior KC.
However, she added that on January 11, 2021, when Marsden visited Finley’s body in a hospital chapel of rest, he said: “His dad beat him to death. I failed to defend him.
While a rip to the inside of Finley’s mouth, possibly caused by a dummy being forced in, was blamed on the child hitting himself with a rattle, Boden had alleged the household dog may have “jumped on” his son, inflicting fractured ribs.
Finley Boden died in what should have been the safest place in the world for him—his own home, according to Det Insp. Stephen Shaw, who oversaw the police investigation.
Although neither a guilty conviction nor a prison sentence would bring Finley back, justice has been done since we now know the truth about what happened to him.
