A mother and her former partner have been sentenced to prison for the murder of 18-month-old Alfie Phillips. The tragic toddler suffered a shocking 70 injuries to his body, including fractured ribs, arms, and legs, during a night described by prosecutors as a “violent discipline.”
Sian Hedges, 27, and her ex-boyfriend, Jack Benham, 35, were found guilty of murdering Alfie on November 28, 2020, at Benham’s caravan in Hernhill, near Faversham, Kent. The court heard that on that fateful night, the pair had been consuming whisky and cocaine, and traces of the Class A drug were discovered in Alfie’s body.
In a heart-wrenching case, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones, during sentencing, described the suffering Alfie endured as “unimaginable pain” caused by the “frenzied attack.”
The court handed both Hedges and Benham life sentences, with Benham required to serve a minimum of 23 years behind bars, while Hedges was given a minimum term of 19 years.
During the trial, the court learned that Benham had sent Hedges a text message encouraging her to bite Alfie “hard” in response to her message, “Little s*** bit my arm this morning, f****** hurt.” In other messages, Benham derogatorily referred to Alfie as a “cry baby” and threatened to “poke him in the ear” after he turned off the caravan heater.
Alfie’s father, Sam Phillips, who spoke following the guilty verdicts in November, described his son as “good as gold” and “lively,” noting that there was “never a dull moment” with him.
The court also heard explanations from Hedges and Benham regarding Alfie’s earlier injuries, where they claimed he had injured himself while playing with keys and when his fingers got caught in a dog gate.
Prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC countered Benham’s claims of a normal evening, asserting that Alfie had been deliberately injured on multiple occasions, culminating in the fatal assault that took his life on November 27-28, 2020.
Knight further stated, “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.
Hedges, from Yelverton, Devon, and Benham, had denied harming Alfie throughout the trial. Benham claimed he woke up with the child under his leg, fearing he had suffocated him.
This heartbreaking case serves as a grim reminder of the tragic consequences of child abuse and the pursuit of justice to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
