5 most harrowing pieces of evidence that snared mum, stepdad and teen boy over tragic Logan Mwangi’s death
A MONSTER mum, stepdad and teen boy have today been convicted over the death of a five-year-old boy that horrified the nation.
Little Logan Mwangi was brutally injured before he was dumped in a river near his home like “fly-tipped rubbish”.
Angharad Williamson, 30, John Cole, 40, and a 14-year-old boy were all convicted of murder today.
During a grisly trial, Logan’s family and jurors were forced to listen to the youngster’s final moments before his death in July last year.
Here are the five most harrowing pieces of evidence to come out at trial.
Logan’s horrific injuries
The youngster was pulled from the Ogmore River close to his home in Bridgend, South Wales, in mis-matched pyjamas in July last year.
Jurors wept as the catalogue of 56 brutal injuries Logan suffered was read to the court.
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The boy was covered in bruises including on his scalp and even his tongue.
He had received “catastrophic” injuries to his abdomen including a tear measuring 5.5cm by 3cm on his liver and a second rip on his bowel.
As well as trauma to his internal organs and brain, the youngster had external injuries to his head, face, torso arms and legs from “blunt force trauma”.
He also suffered a fractured shoulder, extensive bleeding to the scalp and back of his head and a significant trauma to the brain.
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Logan’s collarbone had been broken in the weeks before his death – suggesting he may have been abused “over a prolonged period of time”.
Tragically he was still alive for several agonising hours after his liver and bowel were torn.
His wounds were likened to falling from a great height or a “high velocity” car crash.
Brutal punishments
Witnesses gave horrifying accounts of the punishments Logan was subjected to leading to his death.
Cole inflicted the gruesome torture methods on the youngster from the age of just three.
The abuse included forcing him to do press ups until he was in tears and standing for prolonged periods of time.
If his frail arms collapsed beneath him, the evil stepdad would make him get back in position and re-start the timer.
But sickeningly, he claimed in court he only made Logan do press ups to “burn up energy”.
Cole, who has previous convictions for offences including burglary, theft, witness intimidation, blackmail, battery, and perverting the course of justice, also carried out other brutal punishments.
Little Logan was made to stand on the stairs for 30 minutes at a time and mum Williamson once used a hot teaspoon to burn his neck.
He also suffered emotional abuse and was blocked from eating takeaway food while his family tucked into KFC.
Chilling CCTV and 999 call
On July 31, Williamson called 999 at 5.45am and began “hyperventilating” down the phone as she falsely reported her son missing.
She was heard “wailing and shouting” and claimed Logan had been kidnapped during the haunting call.
Williamson screamed “help me please” before telling the call handler she woke up to find her son was not there.
At one point she shouted: “Get me my baby back.”
After being told to calm down, Williamson yelled “Logan” and continued begging for help, adding: “My back gate is open, my back gate is open”.
The mum then callously suggested another woman may have kidnapped her son and told the operator Logan had Covid and was in isolation.
She added: “Please help me. He’s my baby. I can’t just stand here and do nothing. Please, I’m begging you. He’s my baby.”
When police arrived, they discovered chilling CCTV of Cole and the teen carrying the youngster’s lifeless body to the river in the early hours of the morning.
They then ventured out again to dispose of Logan’s bloodied dinosaur top as the killers “prioritised their own self preservation over all else”.
Cole had squeezed Logan’s lifeless 3ft 5ins body into a Nike holdall which measured just 2ft 2ins long.
He said his actions were “disgusting” but claimed he found the youngster already dead.
Mum’s bizarre behaviour
Williamson was described as playing the “part of a distraught mother to the best of her acting abilities” in the hours after Logan vanished.
She continued the “hideous show” when officers arrived at the family home and spun a new web of lies after Logan was found in the river.
Her cruel facade even continued in prison where she “never shed a real tear” and only turned on the waterworks when guards came to check on her and she had a captive audience.
On the night she was charged with murdering her son, Williamson binged Married At First Sight Australia in jail and tucked into snacks.
Yet in court she resurrected her role as grieving mother to the best of her acting abilities.
She cried, gagged and left the dock during harrowing parts of the evidence – and balked as the horrific catalogue of 56 injuries Logan suffered was revealed.
Williamson also claimed she was an “overprotective” mum who “loved the bones” of little Logan.
This was in direct contrast to witnesses who said she stood by as Cole inflicted brutal punishments on her son.
The court was also told Williamson tried to pop Logan’s shoulder back in place until she heard a “click” after the teen pushed him down the stairs.
She only took him to hospital the next day when his shoulder was “dropping down”.
The mum told an officer: “I have suffered previous shoulder dislocations and my ex-partner was able to put it back in the socket. I have then decided I could put Logan’s arm back into place.
“I then took a firm hold of Logan’s arm, I pulled it straight and twisted it back in place and I heard a click.”
Williamson added: “At the time I believed I was doing right by Logan. I now realise this was a mistake. I just made a bad call.”
Teen’s ‘murder games’
In chilling evidence, jurors heard how the 14-year-old was heard singing “I love kids. I f***ing love kids. I love to punch kids in the head. It’s orgasmic” by concerned social workers after the killing.
And just weeks before the murder, a girl in the same foster family as him revealed how the boy tried to get her to play at the river alone.
He also asked her young nieces to play a “murder game” where he would put their bodies in black bags.
She said: “He was always talking about killing people. Due to his gaming I dismissed this but over time it made me feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable.
“One time we were at the park with girls aged eight and 10 and he asked them to play a murder game with him and he would put them in black bags.
“He even slashed a paddling pool I bought for the girls with a knife and gave no reason for this.
“He seemed obsessed with killing people.
“He would talk about killing people all the time. He said if The Purge film was true he wanted to kill my mother and father and he made it seem as if he wanted to it be real life.”
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The girl’s foster mum also told how he had a “desire for violence” and would torture the family’s pet dog by spraying deodorant in its eyes.
The teen told the “horrified” carer he would kill her, her husband, daughter and the dog.