Mother and ex-boyfriend jailed over 18-month-old boy’s violent murder in caravan

The pair were sentenced to life for murdering 18-month-old Alfie in an alcohol and cocaine-fuelled binge

Sian Hedges, 27, and Jack Benham, 35, were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of toddler Alfie (PA)

A mother and her former partner have been jailed for the murder of her toddler after he suffered more than 70 injuries in a night of “violent discipline” in their caravan.

Sian Hedges, 27, and Jack Benham, 35, were sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum terms of 19 years and 23 years respectively at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday for the murder of Alfie Phillips.

The pair murdered 18-month-old Alfie Phillips during a cocaine and whisky-fuelled rampage on 28 November 2020, near Hernhill, Kent, the court heard.

The young child suffered a “myriad of bruises”, broken ribs, arms and a leg, with traces of cocaine found in his body.

Alfie was murdered during a cocaine and whisky-fuelled rampage, court told (PA)

Hedges and Benham denied harming Alfie.

In a victim impact statement read in court, Alfie’s father Sam Phillips said: “After the trial we still feel we deserve answers. I will never know the truth about what happened to my son.

“I never got to hear him say his first proper words, I never got to have a conversation with him, I was robbed of the opportunity to see him grow up.”

Prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC previously 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.

Alfie’s father, Sam Phillips, said he was robbed of the opportunity to see his son grow up (PA)

“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.”

Mr Phillips, Alfie’s father, described him as “good as gold” and “lively”, adding there was “never a dull moment” with the toddler, who he said was always playing and laughing.