Mother and ex-boyfriend jailed for fatal "frenzied attack" on toddler Alfie Phillips

The mother of an 18-month-old boy and her former partner were jailed for a total of at least 42 years for his murder.

Alfie Phillips was beaten and smothered, suffering 70 injuries to his body, including a "myriad of bruises" and broken ribs, arms and legs, in what prosecutors described as a night of "violent discipline".

His mother, Sian Hedges, 27, and her ex-boyfriend Jack Benham, 35, had been drinking whisky and taking cocaine.

Traces of the Class A drug were found in Alfie's body after it was discovered in Benham's caravan in Hernhill, near Faversham, Kent, on 28 November 2020.

The pair denied murder but were convicted following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court and given life sentences, with Hedges to serve a minimum term of 19 years and Benham 23 years.

The judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh, said Alfie suffered "unimaginable pain" in the "frenzied attack".

Passing sentence, he told Hedges: "You were Alfie's mother and he deserved your protection."

This video has been edited to comply with reporting restrictions.

The judge's sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-...

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