Logan Mwangi murder: Craig Mulligan won't get sentence increased

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head shot of CraigImage source, South Wales Police
Image caption,

Craig Mulligan was one of three defendants found guilty

A teenager who helped murder five-year-old Logan Mwangi before dumping his body in a river will not have his sentence increased.

Logan's body was found in the River Ogmore near his home in Sarn, Bridgend county, in July 2021.

Craig Mulligan, 14, was given a 15-year sentence and was convicted along with Logan's mother and step-father.

After considering his sentence, the Attorney General's Office said it would not refer it to the Court of Appeal.

John Cole, 40, must serve a minimum term of 29 years in prison while Logan's mother Angharad Williamson, 31, will serve at least 28 years.

"The solicitor general was horrified by this case and wishes to express his sympathies to the victim's father," a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said.

"After careful consideration, the solicitor general has concluded that this case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Image source, Family story
Image caption,

Logan Mwangi was a previously "smiling, cheerful little boy", the trial heard

"A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, external to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

"The threshold is a high one and the test was not met in this case."

Mulligan, Cole and Williamson killed the Tondu Primary School pupil before dumping him like "fly-tipped rubbish" in the river in nearby Pandy Park, jurors at his trial their trial were told.

Police officers found Logan partially submerged, wearing his dinosaur pyjama bottoms and a Spider-Man top.

Image source, South Wales Police
Image caption,

John Cole and Angharad Williamson are also serving lengthy prison terms for Logan's murder

Logan was treated like a prisoner in the days before his death after previously being described as a "smiling, cheerful little boy" and died after suffering a "brutal and sustained" attack at home.

He suffered 56 "catastrophic" injuries, including extensive bruising to the back of his head and tears in his liver and bowel.

Mulligan had a "desire for violence" and pushed Logan down the stairs, breaking his arm.

A support worker once heard him singing: "I love to punch kids in the head, it's orgasmic."

Image source, South Wales Police
Image caption,

Five-year-old Logan Mwangi was described as a "really sweet, happy-go-lucky child" by a neighbour

In sentencing, Mrs Justice Jefford told the trio they were "all responsible for Logan's death and all the anguish that has flowed from it".

"Because he was killed in his own home, it is not possible to be sure what has happened to him," she said.

During the trial, Mulligan could not be identified publicly due to reporting restrictions because of his age.

However, after he was found guilty and sentenced, this was lifted.

In her ruling on the anonymity order, Mrs Justice Jefford said "there is a significant gap in any understanding of this case" if Mulligan was not named.