FACE OF EVIL
LOGAN Mwangi's baby-faced teen killer has today been unmasked after he was jailed for murdering the boy along with his mum and stepdad.
Craig Mulligan was just 13 when he murdered the five-year-old, who was found with "severe injuries" likened to falling from a great height or a "high velocity" car crash.
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The "pure evil" teen, now 14, is the son of John Cole's ex-partner Rebecca Trudgill, who was in a relationship with the monster for over ten years.
The relationship ended in 2019 when Cole met Williamson and the teen was taken into care after his mum faked a cancer diagnosis.
As he had criminal convictions, Cole, who Mulligan saw as a "God-like" figure, was banned from unsupervised contact with children until social services became involved.
In May 2020, he applied to have parental rights of Mulligan - with the request granted just five days before Logan was killed.
Shockingly, Mulligan only referred to Logan as "the five-year-old" and made previous threats to kill the youngster.
A reporting restriction in place to protect his identity was lifted today after he was detained for life with a minimum of 15 years for murder.
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Logan's Angharad Williamson, 30, was jailed for life with a minimum of 28 years, while stepdad Cole, 40, was caged for at least 29 years.
The youngster was pulled from Ogmore River close to his home in Bridgend, South Wales, in mis-matched pyjamas in July last year.
He had suffered 56 external injuries to his head, face, torso arms and legs from "blunt force trauma".
The horrific catalogue of injuries included a fractured shoulder, extensive bleeding to the scalp and back of his head and a significant trauma to the brain.
Logan had been so battered even his tongue was bruised but tragically he was still alive for several agonising hours after his liver and bowel were torn.
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Had his evil killers called for help, the boy would have had an 80 per cent chance of survival.
Sentencing, Judge Mrs Justice Nerys Jefford described the attack on Logan as "ferocious", adding: "You have all been convicted of murder and you are al responsible for Logan's death and all the anguish that followed from that."
Logan’s heartbroken dad spoke of his torment today ahead of the trio’s sentencing.
In an emotional victim impact statement, Ben Mwangi recalled the horrific moment he discovered his son was dead.
He said: “On Saturday, July 31, 2021 I was at my place of work when police officers came and told me about the death of Logan. They told me that his body had been found in the River Ogmore in the early hours of the morning.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I felt so confused. I just collapsed on the floor and hit my head. I just felt like every fibre in my body had died and couldn’t stop crying.
“I couldn’t understand how something like this could have happened to my son. The rest of the day was a blur as I waited for more information. It was so painful.
“The following day I was made aware that Logan’s mother had been arrested on suspicion of his murder. I am just devastated that I couldn’t have been there to protect him.”
Ben also told how the past ten months have been “hell” for him as his past struggles with anxiety were heightened by Logan’s death.
And he tragically revealed his dad died just months after the youngster’s murder after telling him he had “given up and was ready to go”.
'DEHUMANISED'
Ben added: “I can’t sleep and keep experiencing re-occurring nightmares. My dreams of Logan are so vivid.
“Logan comes to tell me that he is okay and to check if I’m okay. He runs into my arms and I hold him tight but he then slowly disappears until he’s no longer in my arms. I wake up screaming and crying.
“I find it difficult to go back to sleep. I don’t want to go back to sleep because I don’t want to experience these dreams because they are so painful.”
During a harrowing trial, jurors were told how Logan had suffered horror abuse leading up to his death.
Cole made the youngster do press ups as "punishment" and he was made to face the wall for 30 minutes if he apparently misbehaved.
The 6ft 4ins National Front member also branded the youngster "Coco Pop" and "dehumanised" Logan because of his mixed race heritage.
Logan had been locked in his filthy bedroom at home for ten days like a "prisoner" after contracting Covid leading up to his death.
His stammer had also worsened around Cole and he had started self-harming.
BRUTAL KILLING
The youngster was murdered at home on July 31 last year before the depraved trio hatched an "elaborate charade" to cover up his death.
Cole and Mulligan were chillingly seen on CCTV carrying the youngster's lifeless body to the river in the early hours of the morning.
The 3ft 5ins youngster had been squeezed into a Nike holdall which measured just 2ft 2ins long.
They then ventured out again to dispose of Logan's bloodied dinosaur top as the killers "prioritised their own self preservation over all else".
Williamson called 999 at 5.45am and began "hyperventilating" down the phone as she falsely reported her son missing.
She was heard "wailing and shouting" and claimed Logan had been kidnapped during the haunting call.
At one point, the ex-private schoolgirl screamed: "Get me my baby back."
The mum callously then suggested another woman may have kidnapped her son, who had been isolating with Covid.
She said she was sleeping and woke to find Logan gone but it soon transpired the lights in his room appeared to be going on and off during the night.
Moments later the shadowy figures of Cole and Mulligan were seen leaving the property carrying lifeless Logan.
Prosecutor Caroline Rees QC said she played the "part of a distraught mother to the best of her acting abilities".
She continued the "hideous show" when officers arrived at the family home and spun a new web of lies after Logan was found in the river.
CROCODILE TEARS
Her cruel façade even continued in prison where she "never shed a real tear" and only turned on the waterworks when guards came to check on her and she had a captive audience.
On the night she was charged with murdering her son, Williamson binged Married At First Sight Australia in jail and tucked into snacks.
As the trial rumbled on, it emerged Williamson had tried covering her own guilt by blaming the other two defendants.
She claimed she saw gym-goer Cole and Mulligan attacking Logan two days before his body was pulled from the river.
In between sobs, the disgraced mum said she saw Cole punch the youngster in the stomach so savagely he was thrown across the hallway.
She then claimed the brute told the teen to "sweep" little Logan to the ground.
CCTV later showed her locked in a scuffle with Mulligan outside the house in a chilling sign of what was to come.
Her antics were not the only time the defendants displayed haunting behaviour before and after Logan died.
Mulligan was heard singing "I love kids. I f***ing love kids. I love to punch kids in the head. It’s orgasmic" by concerned social workers after the killing.
And just weeks before the murder, a girl in the same foster family as him revealed how he tried to get her to play at the river alone.
The teen also asked her young nieces to play a "murder game" where he would put their bodies in black bags.
'DESIRE FOR VIOLENCE'
The girl's foster mum chillingly told how Mulligan had a "desire for violence" and would torture the family's pet dog by spraying deodorant in its eyes.
The teen, who was obsessed with gaming and horror film The Purge, told the carer he would kill her, her husband, daughter and dog.
While he remained placid during the trial, Williamson resurrected her role as grieving mother to the best of her acting abilities.
She cried, gagged and left the dock during harrowing parts of the evidence - and balked as the horrific catalogue of 56 injuries Logan suffered was revealed.
The youngster was covered in bruises including on his scalp and even his tongue.
He had received "catastrophic" injuries to his abdomen including a tear measuring 5.5cm by 3cm on his liver and a second rip on his bowel.
Tragically Logan is believed to have survived for several hours after the assault, meaning he may have been saved.
HORRIFIC PUNISHMENTS
Logan's collarbone had also been broken in the weeks before his death - suggesting he may have been abused "over a prolonged period of time".
This was compounded by harrowing witness accounts of the brutal punishments Logan was subjected to leading to his death.
Witnesses told how Cole inflicted the gruesome torture methods on the youngster from the age of just three.
The abuse included forcing him to do press ups until he was in tears and standing for prolonged periods of time.
If his frail arms collapsed beneath him, the evil stepdad would make him get back in position and re-start the timer.
But sickeningly, he claimed in court he only made Logan do press ups to "burn up energy".
Cole, who has previous convictions for offences including burglary, theft, witness intimidation, blackmail, battery, and perverting the course of justice, also carried out other brutal punishments.
Little Logan was made to stand on the stairs for 30 minutes at a time and mum Williamson once used a hot teaspoon to burn his neck.
He also suffered emotional abuse and was blocked from eating takeaway food while his family tucked into KFC.
Logan was referred to social services just months before he died amid fears for his safety.
The youngster had suffered a broken elbow and dislocated collar bone after the teen boy shoved him down the stairs at home.
But Williamson tried to "fix" the injuries herself instead of taking her son to hospital.
A health visitor said Logan was then referred to Bridgend Council's social services team and a multi-agency safeguarding hub after finally attending hospital.
But there were missed opportunities to save the youngster, who was stepped down on the child protection register just a month before his murder.
In May 2021, Williamson called a social worker to report Logan had "burned his neck in the bath" but the issue was not taken further.
All three defendants denied murder.
Cole and Williamson also denied causing or allowing the death of a child but Cole admitted perverting the course of justice by moving Logan's body.
Williamson and the boy both denied perverting the course of justice.
Detective Inspector Lianne Rees, of the South Wales Police Major Crime Investigations Team said: "Logan was a beautiful, bright and innocent five-year-old little boy with his whole life ahead of him."
"It is difficult to imagine how Logan must have suffered at the hands of those who he trusted, and inconceivable that those who should have loved and protected him betrayed him in the worst possible way.
"Attempts to cover up the crime in the hours following Logan's death and the subsequent web of lies and deceit that were to follow, are an indication of their callousness and lack of remorse.
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"The impact of Logan's tragic death on so many people cannot be measured.
"Nothing can bring Logan back, but I hope that today's outcome will bring some comfort to those who loved him."
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