GUILTY UK - Logan Mwangi, 5, found dead in Wales River, Bridgend, 31 July 2021 *arrests, inc. minor* #6

[Dotta]

Public to help decide what happens to house where Logan Mwangi was killed | ITV News

A decision is yet to be made on the fate of the Lower Llansantffraid home which has been boarded up since shortly after the murder. | ITV News Wales

www.itv.com

 

[Cherwell]

I agree with the neighbours quoted in the article. Demolishing houses because they have been the scene of a crime is wasteful over-reaction. Renovate it and someone will be glad to have a home.

 

[Seattle1]

Public to help decide what happens to house where Logan Mwangi was killed | ITV News

A decision is yet to be made on the fate of the Lower Llansantffraid home which has been boarded up since shortly after the murder. | ITV News Wales

www.itv.com

I respect being sensitive to those affected by Logan's horrific tragedy but I've also seen how letting a property sit serves to extend the grief and prevent healing-- especially when so many are in need of housing. IMO, it's only the adults that were the sores of the neighborhood whereas Logan only brought them joy.

From the link:

Valleys To Coast Housing, which manages the building, said in a statement: "Whilst we have awaited the formal conclusion of this tragic case and subsequent closure of the two tenancies involved we have had informal conversations with people in the local community and will continue to be sensitive to their needs and feelings. We are currently in discussions with Bridgend County Borough Council about next steps.”

Back in 2014 the Welsh Government demolished the Ceinws cottage where paedophile Mark Bridger had murdered five-year-old April Jones.

Some of Logan's neighbours spoke to WalesOnline in April about what they felt should happen to his former home.

Colin Michael Fitzgerald, 79, said a "complete refurbishment" rather than demolition would be the best option.

"It's got to be painted top to bottom and the garden put to a nice standard and someone will be more than glad of it," he said.

 

[Moll]

No report yet on the council's care (or lack of it) of Logan, but information that there was a heavy reliance on agency workers:

Council where Logan Mwangi was murdered ‘worryingly dependent’ on agency care

Welsh Tories say Bridgend’s £1.1m bill for agency social workers in year of five-year-old’s death shows risk of inconsistent care

www.theguardian.com

 

[JuicyLucy]

I agree with the neighbours quoted in the article. Demolishing houses because they have been the scene of a crime is wasteful over-reaction. Renovate it and someone will be glad to have a home.

I would feel pretty weird living in a house where a child had been tortured and murdered tbh.

Are they council houses? You would hope prospective tenants would be given the choice and not lose their place on the housing list if they rejected it.

 

[LucyRocket]

No, not council. Social housing association

 

[JuicyLucy]

No, not council. Social housing association

But still, people would be on a ranked list and expected to take a tenancy when they were offered it or risk being moved down the list, no?

 

[LucyRocket]

But still, people would be on a ranked list and expected to take a tenancy when they were offered it or risk being moved down the list, no?

Yes, that’s correct. Although that property is managed by a private sector organisation, (Valleys to Coast), Valleys to Coast are part of the local authority’s joint housing register. So you have to sign up to the council housing register to be considered for one of their properties, and they are allocated in the same way.

 

[StillDiggin]

House where Logan Mwangi was murdered offered up to new tenants

The flat where Logan Mwangi lived with his mother, step father, and another boy, was boarded up after his murder last year

www.walesonline.co.uk

 

[Lucy6226]

House where Logan Mwangi was murdered offered up to new tenants

The flat where Logan Mwangi lived with his mother, step father, and another boy, was boarded up after his murder last year

www.walesonline.co.uk

Gosh who would want to live in a house where a little boy died and suffered so tragically?! Although I know previous houses where people have been murdered go on to have record number of bids

 

[StillDiggin]

Logan Mwangi murder: Injuries seen as accident by doctor

Logan went to hospital with a broken arm and bruises but was not referred to child protection.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

A damning report of system failures in the UK news today. There's some information in here that I don't recall coming out in court, for example the number of times he was known to be seriously bruised by 'health professionals'.

Poor Logan, may he rest in peace now.

Little Logan's parents used lockdown to hide his abuse

The defenceless five-year-old was fatally attacked at his home in Llansantffraid, Sarn, Bridgend, before his body was dumped in the nearby River Ogmore in the early hours of July 31 last year.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Ched]

‘Systemic’ failures found to have led to inaction on warning signals before murder of five-year-old boy

Series of opportunities missed to protect Logan Mwangi, review finds

‘Systemic’ failures found to have led to inaction on warning signals before murder of five-year-old boy

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ched]

Doctors didn’t pass details about injuries he had suffered to child protection services, in a ‘systemic’ failure that could have been avoided, a review by Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board found.

Officials missed multiple chances to save Logan Mwangi, 5, a year before his murder by evil mum, stepdad and stepbrother

“Significant” injuries suffered by five-year-old Logan Mwangi months before he was murdered were not shared with child protection services, a review into his case has found.

www.lbc.co.uk

 

[Ched]

However, while Logan was in hospital a further assessment was made and a paediatric doctor took 31 images of other "significant" injuries which included bruising to his forehead, ears, cheeks, arm and a carpet bruise on his chin.

The review said some health staff were "uncomfortable" about the decisions around Logan but felt unable to express their concerns.
It added that there was a culture in the health board where staff were reluctant to challenge decisions made by more qualified professionals.

Logan Mwangi murder: Injuries seen as accident by doctor

Logan went to hospital with a broken arm and bruises but was not referred to child protection.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Kasmeer]

So I take it doctors aren't mandated reporters for abuse here then? Can't believe that anyone could think the injuries were bad enough to take 31 photos but not, y'know, DO anything about it... Even if they did genuinely think it could be accidental, that many injuries in an "accident" are probably worth mentioning, especially given it takes several "accidents" to explain them all.

 

[Lucy6226]

I'm glad this is coming out now because a lot of blame was put on the social worker. Yet no one blamed the school or doctors that saw him. It is EVERYONE'S duty to safeguard children

 

[Lindsay Lou Who]

Behind a paywall but has a 1 month free trial.

Logan Mwangi and Craig Mulligan: the two boys who never stood a chance

Craig Mulligan, 14, followed his stepfather, John Cole, everywhere. He followed him down the road from their flat in Bridgend, south Wales, over the River Ogmore, across the green and behind the row of houses where Angharad Williamson, Cole’s partner, lived with her five-year-old son, Logan Mwangi.

www.thetimes.co.uk

 

[Seattle1]

Behind a paywall but has a 1 month free trial.

Logan Mwangi and Craig Mulligan: the two boys who never stood a chance

Craig Mulligan, 14, followed his stepfather, John Cole, everywhere. He followed him down the road from their flat in Bridgend, south Wales, over the River Ogmore, across the green and behind the row of houses where Angharad Williamson, Cole’s partner, lived with her five-year-old son, Logan Mwangi.

www.thetimes.co.uk

Sorry, he's not getting a pass from me. I don't doubt the CM bullied and/or harmed logan with or without prompting by Cole and whether or not in the presence/supervision of John Cole. MOO

 

[JuicyLucy]

Behind a paywall but has a 1 month free trial.

Logan Mwangi and Craig Mulligan: the two boys who never stood a chance

Craig Mulligan, 14, followed his stepfather, John Cole, everywhere. He followed him down the road from their flat in Bridgend, south Wales, over the River Ogmore, across the green and behind the row of houses where Angharad Williamson, Cole’s partner, lived with her five-year-old son, Logan Mwangi.

www.thetimes.co.uk

I can't see the whole article, but my impression all the way through the coverage of this case was that CM was its second victim.

He sounds like an absolute monster but imo he wasn't born that way, but rather is a product of a combination of tragic events and the very specific personal failings of the people who were responsible for him in his formative years - who, for all we know, were also let down themselves by their own caregivers. Delinquency, like abuse, is often part of a cycle imo.

There's a delightful picture on a family member's social media of CM as a toddler in the arms of his bio father, which unfortunately even now the restrictions have been lifted I can't easily post because of the other children in it. He's maybe 18 months old, bright-eyed, laughing - a normal, happy-looking child. For me, the process of brutalisation that made CM who he is today and led to LM's death is likely to have happened after that picture was taken, and was not CM's fault.

Until as a society we're prepared to invest in supporting damaged individuals to become mentally healthy people and decent parents, there will always be more CMs imo.

JMO and I appreciate probably not a popular one here.