Thug Thomas Morgan has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his baby stepson. He joins a host of twisted killers who have stolen the lives of children in their care
These children suffered terrifying final moments at the hands of the very people who were supposed to keep them safe.
It’s an unimaginable crime, but not all that unusual. In the UK, multiple step-parents have been found guilty of killing innocent tots in their care in recent years. Just this week, a man who viciously shook his baby stepson to death after an argument with his ex-partner was jailed for life. Five-month-old Jensen-Lee Dougal was left with ‘catastrophic’ brain injuries after a violent attack by thug Thomas Morgan.
Offering insight into why step-parents kill, a psychologist tells the Mirror that jealousy, resentment and insecurity can all factor into vulnerable children turning ‘into a target’. Here, we take a closer look at the death of tragic little Jensen-Lee, along with some other cases of babies and children who lost their lives in horrific circumstances…
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Jensen-Lee Dougal
Little Jesen-Lee’s smile lit up every room before his life was cruelly stamped out by the man tasked with protecting him. A “really happy baby” adored by his family, the five-month-old was murdered by his mother’s boyfriend in a “rage filled attack” while she was out at work.
Thomas Morgan, 29, shook baby Jensen-Lee Dougal so violently that he ended up with injuries that experts described as the worst they had ever seen. This week, he was sentenced to a minimum of 19 years in prison.
The killer embedded himself into the family quickly – striking up a relationship with Jensen-Lee’s mum, Jordan Dougal, in December 2024 and moving in by January 2024, just two months before the assault. Jensen-Lee’s distraught mother told the court that she “never had any issues” with Morgan caring for her baby and viewed him as his step-father. Heartbreakingly, she believed that she had found their family.
Her baby suffered catastrophic brain injuries that Morgan sickeningly claimed were as a result of his stepson choking on sick and the efforts made to save him. He even feigned sobbing down the phone when he called 999 after a neighbour tried to treat the helpless baby. His web of lies soon unravelled when the prosecution showed that the tot suffered injuries akin to those found in high velocity road traffic collisions or a fall from height.
The trial heard that on the day of Jensen-Lee’s murder, Morgan, who has two of his own children, became involved in a 90-minute abusive text message argument with his ex-partner Georgia Griffiths – during which he called her a “stinking little rat”, a “coked-up whore”, and a “deluded c***”.
Seething with anger, he texted the woman even while he was driving his car with a sleeping Jensen-Lee in the back. After arriving in Clydach, the thug went to buy some weed from a contact and then bought a case of larger and some pasties from a shop. All the while, the five-month baby was in the car. When they got home, Morgan turned on the TV to watch football.
Jensen-Lee’s family will never know exactly what happened between the time Morgan arrived home at 4:30pm and first called Jordan at 5:20pm. The thug was home alone with the youngster, and told a whole host of lies about what really went on. But what we do know for certain is that the baby was shaken so violently he suffered catastrophic bleeding on the brain, bleeding in the spinal column, and bleeding behind the eyes along with multiple rib fractures. Damage was also found to an elbow joint and to the ankle joints.
Morgan took the infant outside after the attack and handed him to neighbour Hayley Evans who was first-aid trained. But tragically, it was too late. After neighbours called 999, paramedics spent 45 minutes performing CPR on Jensen-Lee and managed to re-establish a pulse. The tot was then was taken to University Hospital Wales in Cardiff where CT scans showed the extent and severity of his brain injuries.
The next day, his mum Jordan made the impossible decision of switching off her baby’s life support machine, and he died in her arms. “He would just be stuck to a machine for the rest of his life”, she told jurors of her heartbreaking decision, adding “I didn’t want to remember him like that when he was such a happy baby.”
Charlie Roberts
In an eerily similar case, little Charlie Roberts was also shaken to death by his evil stepfather. Christopher Stockton, 38, shook the 22-month-old with such force that his brain moved within his skull, but Stockton claimed the youngster choked on a Hobnob biscuit to try and hide the horror violence that had occurred behind closed doors.
On January 12, 2024, Paula Roberts, 41, left her son in the sole care of her partner, Stockton, at her Darlington home in County Durham while she went for an eye test. After Charlie collapsed, Stockton made a 911 call and was heard placidly telling the near-lifeless tot: “Come on, Charlie. Come on, wakey, wakey.”
Stockton claimed the toddler “went floppy” and started “gasping for air” while the two were playing together. The call handler talked him through how to perform CPR. At one point Stockton, who was off work ill, said he would pass out if he tried to count the compressions he was doing on the tot.
In a sick attempt to cover his tracks, Stockton later told paramedics, doctors and police that Charlie had choked on a biscuit and that he patted the child on the back and stuck his fingers down the toddler’s throat. Paramedics found nothing blocking the youngster’s airway and tests later revealed little Charlie had suffered an “unsurvivable” brain injury. The little boy died at Newcastle Hospital the next day.
Stockton was found guilty of murdering his one-year-old stepson Charlie in December 2024 and in February 2025 he was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 25 years. At sentencing, Dominic Tate of CPS North East said: “It is clear from the evidence in this case Christopher Stockton murdered Charlie Roberts. After being left in charge of Charlie at 8.45am, our case was that he lost his temper within that crucial twenty minutes preceding his emergency call, before throwing Charlie with sufficient violence to cause catastrophic head injuries.”
Charlie, who was 22 months old, had been subjected to “cruel and uncaring” injuries in the seven months before his death, at the hands of his stepfather. The toddler’s mother, Paula Roberts, 41, also admitted a single charge of neglect. The mum-of-five failed to seek medical help for Charlie in December and January after he suffered injuries to his private parts and ear.
Elijah Shemwell
Carl Alesbrook, 19, was handed an indefinite jail term for murdering four-month-old Elijah Shemwell in Belper, Derbyshire, in January 2022.
Alesbrook, who was 16 at the time, was in a relationship with Elijah’s mother India Shemwell and had been alone looking after the baby in her flat.
He denied hurting the little boy, but was convicted after a trial at Derby Crown Court, and was handed a life sentence with the 14-year minimum term.
Elijah suffered bleeding on the brain, whiplash-type injuries and multiple bone fractures. Alesbrook had met Elijah’s mother, India Shemwell, just seven weeks before the fatal assault, when he was living in a care home and regularly smoking cannabis.
He denied harming Elijah and feeling “unduly angered or irritated” by him, despite sending a Snapchat message to Shemwell calling Elijah a c*** days before the baby died.
He also denied feeling “jealous” of the baby’s father, from whom Shemwell had separated but “remained emotionally and sexually involved” with, the jury was told.
It is not unusual for step-parents or non-biological caregivers to “struggle to form strong emotional bonds with the child”, according to criminologist and psychologist Alex Iszatt. She said this lack of connection can lead to dismissal and an inability to empathise, instead seeing the child as “a source of stress or competition”.
Alex, who works in forensics and behavioural criminology, told the Mirror: “Jealousy, resentment and insecurity can turn a child into a target when a step-parent is involved. These dynamics can be even more intense when the step-parent is young, lacks maturity and doesn’t have the emotional tools to handle frustrations constructively.”
Mother Shemwell, who was 21 when Elijah died, was sentenced to three years in prison by the same court. She admitted to two counts of child cruelty last December, including neglecting to call an ambulance more quickly after Elijah became unwell.
DCI Greg McGill, who led the investigation into Elijah’s, death, said: “While a child himself, even a teenager knows the fatal risks posed by shaking a four-month-old baby boy.
The force used to squeeze his tiny body broke his ribs, while the shaking caused such significant damage that his brain became starved of oxygen leading to his death.
“While India was quite simply an appalling mother, she could never have foreseen the brutal actions of Alesbrook. However, it is quite clear that she could and should have taken far better care of Elijah and she will have to live with the consequences of both her action and inaction for the rest of her life.”
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was just six years old when, in June 2020, he was murdered by his stepmother Emma Tustin, who subjected him to abuse and torture at his home in Solihull. His father Thomas Hughes, was also found guilty of manslaughter.
The court heard how little Arthur had been poisoned with salt, beaten regularly, and denied food and drink, before eventually suffering fatal brain injuries as a result of Tustin striking his head repeatedly against a hard surface. At the time of his death, Arthur had sustained 130 bruises.
In a National Review into Arthur’s death, set up by The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, it was found that family members’ concerns for his welfare were not taken seriously enough, while police and social workers failed to fully investigate bruises on Arthur’s body.
The report, which urgently called upon the government to strengthen child protection system at both national and local levels, concluded that children in the area were facing significant risks due to failings, while inspectors expressed concern at incomplete police records that left children ‘at risk of significant harm’.
Sara Sharif
Sara Sharif, a once bubbly school girl who loved dancing and fairytales, endured so much pain and suffering at the hands of her evil dad and step-mother that she convinced herself she deserved it.
Weak, beaten and in excurciating pain, Sara was repeatedly punished and tormented by her parents, who hid her away from the world. Undoubtedly terrified of just how far her caregivers were willing to go, the little girl must have felt desperately alone and confused as those who were meant to love her continued to hurt her in unimaginable ways.
Remembered by loved ones as a “unique” child with an “angelic voice”, Sara loved playing the guitar and hoped to one day become a ballerina. But in August 2023, these dreams were stamped out forever following a devastating campaign of abuse by those who should have cared for her.
On August 10, 2023, police received a phone call from Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, who wept as he told the operator, “I’ve killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died.” In what he would later claim was a false confession, ‘scumbag’ Sharif insisted: “I beat her up, it wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”
When officers arrived at the silent family home in Woking, they found young Sara dead and alone beneath the blanket of her bunk bed, alongside a note which read, “It’s me, Urfan Sharif, who killed my daughter by beating. I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it. I am running away because I am scared.”
By this time, Sharif, 42, had fled to Pakistan alongside Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, and five other children aged between one and 13 years old. Sharif, Batool, and Malik were arrested on September 13 of that year at Gatwick Airport after returning to the UK. Both Sharif and Batool were found guilty of Sara’s murder in December 2024, while Malik was convicted of causing or allowing her death.
The Old Bailey heard in devastating detail the torment Sara had been subjected to in her final days, in a household that went to great lengths to conceal the torture going on behind their front door.
Doctors who examined Sara’s body concluded that she had sustained an “awful constellation of injuries” and had been tied up and restrained, “perhaps for lengthy periods”. Sara was found to have 10 fractures to her spine, as well as breaks to her right collarbone, two ribs, both shoulder blades, both arms and hands and three fingers.
She fractures in 25 areas all over her body and one “extremely rare” neck injury, not seen before by a radiologist on a child. Some of the injuries were fresh and just ten days old when helpless Sara was found.
Medics also discovered what appeared to be five bite marks on Sara’s left arm, as well as one on her inner thigh. Tests discovered these marks were not made by the two male defendants, while step-mum Batool refused to provide a dental impression for ‘comparison purposes’.
A 6cm by 5cm burn mark from an iron was also discovered on Sara’s buttocks during the post-mortem. It hadn’t been treated. Emlyn Jones KC told the court: “Sara had not just been beaten up. Her treatment, certainly in the last few weeks of her life, had been appalling. It had been brutal. And throughout, these three defendants were the adults living in the house where Sara had lived, where she had suffered, and where she had died.”
Lola James
Lola James was two-years-old when she was killed by her stepfather Kyle Bevan, 31. Bevan inflicted “catastrophic” brain injuries on the infant in the early hours of July 17, 2020, while her mother, Sinead James, lay asleep upstairs. The little girl’s injuries were described as comparable with those found in car crash victims.
More than 100 scratches and bruises were recorded on Lola’s body and she also had extensive damage to both her eyes. She died in hospital four days later. In May 2023, Bevan was convicted of murder by a jury at Swansea Crown Court and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 28 years.
James was found guilty of causing or allowing her daughter’s death and jailed for three years. Bevan denied harming Lola and claimed the injuries were caused when the family dog pushed her down the stairs.
In a statement read to the court, Lola’s father Daniel Thomas attacked her mother for failing to keep the infant safe and said: “Lola didn’t just die, wasn’t just taken from me in the worst way ever possible, she was brutally attacked – her tiny body was savaged in the evilest way, she didn’t stand a chance.”
Star Hobson
Star Hobson, from Keighley, died in September 2020 following months of abuse by her mother, Frankie Smith, and her mother’s partner, Savannah Brockhill. Bradford Crown Court heard how Brockhill had subjected the 16-month-old to ‘kicking and stamping’ in an attempt to ‘toughen her up’.
Star sustained several fractured bones and broken ribs, as well as internal bleeding as a result of a ‘severe blow or blows’ to the abdomen. Brockhill was convicted of murder and handed a life sentence.
Smith was sentenced to eight years – which was increased to 12 on appeal – for causing or allowing her child’s death.
The National Review into Star’s death found assessment visits were ‘superficial’, meaning that professionals had a ‘limited understanding of what daily life was like for Star’.
The report said: “The growing weight of concerned voices speaking on behalf of Star should have prompted professionals to reconsider the escalating risks to her.
“The fact that she may have been experiencing serious and systematic physical and emotional abuse was never really considered and addressed.”
Logan Mwangi
Logan Mwangi was just five years old when he was murdered in July 2021 after suffering abuse at the hands of his mum Angharad Williamson, her boyfriend, John Cole, and a 14-year-old boy.
His body was found discarded in a river near the family home in Wales after his mum falsely claimed her son was ‘missing’ in a 999 call.
Chilling CCTV footage from a neighbour’s security system caught Cole carrying Logan’s body to the River Ogmore while Mulligan followed.
The court heard Logan had been subjected to the “most appalling violence to his head and body” and his injuries were the sort found in a “high-speed car accident”.
Williamson was sentenced to 28 years in prison while Cole received a 29-year sentence for the murder.
Craig Mulligan, 14, was given anonymity during proceedings but in June 2022 the order protecting his identity was lifted. He was also sentenced to life detention with a minimum of 15 years.
Harvey Borrington
Harvey Borrington, three, was fatally struck by his stepmother, Leila Borrington, 23, who proceeded to film him as he lay dying in August 2012.
Harvey, who had non-verbal autism, suffered a broken arm before sustaining a fatal head injury. While Harvey was fighting for his life, Borrington texted his dad moaning, “Why does this happen to me?”
In the video, she lifted the boy’s left arm and let it drop loosely to the floor, before continuing to film as he lay unmoving on a living-room rug.
Borrington had previous history of causing him harm, and the court heard she had taken advantage of the fact his autism meant he couldn’t properly express pain.
Harvey was rushed to hospital where he died two days later. In a heart-wrenching victim impact statement, his mum described him as a “beautiful little boy”.
Borrington was jailed for 15 years for manslaughter, two years of causing GBH with intent and six months concurrent on the assault causing bodily harm offence.
Sebastian Kalinowski
Sebastian Kalinowski, 15, was murdered by his mum Agnieszka Kalinowska and her long-term partner Andrzej Latoszewski in August 2021. The pair were jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years each after subjecting him to a campaign of torture.
Kalinowska and Latoszweski beat Sebastian with a bed slat, whipped him with an extension cable and stabbed him with a needle. He eventually died of an infection caused by “untreated complications of multiple rib fractures” at his home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Lambert called Latoszweski a bully: “Like all bullies, unable to maintain respect in another way you sought to intimidate Sebastian who was weaker than you and in Sebastian you found a way.” She added that Sebastian’s mum simply “did not care about him”.
Jurors were shown ‘horrifying’ CCTV footage from the couple’s home, showing numerous incidents in which Sebastian was repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on.
He was described as a “model pupil” in school, but his mother and step-father claimed he needed punishing for lying and playing truant.
During sentencing, the judge said footage from the day of Sebastian’s death show the teen “moving like a very old man” before he is assaulted by his mother and dragged off by Latoszweski. The judge said: “When next seen on CCTV he is unconscious with no apparent signs of life.”
The court heard Sebastian had been in England for less than a year after moving from his home country of Poland, where he lived with his biological father. His heartbroken dad watched the proceedings from Poland and branded them “ruthless monsters without an ounce of human feeling”.
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