Finley died on a cot that was soaked in blood and vomit just weeks after a family returned him to his parents’ care. court.
At the time of his death, he had suffered 130 separate injuries, including bruises, broken and fractured bones, and burns.
At Derbyshire Crown Court today, her parents Stephen Boden, 30, and Shannon Marsden were jailed for life for her murder. Boden was sentenced to a minimum of 29 years and Marsden to a minimum of 27 years.
During his trial, the court heard that Finley was cared for in February 2020, just after he was born and just a few weeks before the UK went into lockdown for the first time.
Social workers had originally concluded that Finley was at “serious risk of harm” if she stayed with her parents.
There were concerns about their shocking living conditions, domestic violence and the partner’s use of cannabis.
But the lockdown meant social workers couldn’t make home visits, so Finley’s mother was allowed to send them photos to show the state of her home.
Photos the now 22-year-old sent showed the house in Old Whittington, near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, to be very tidy with a cozy nursery for babies, a tidy kitchen and clean floors.
Finley was returned to his parents in mid-November 2020, just 39 days before his death.
And photos shown to jurors at his parents’ trial showed the miserable conditions they lived in as they unleashed “sustained and brutal attacks” on their baby.
Baby clothes and bedding were covered in blood, saliva, and phlegm. Curdled baby formula was found in a feeding bottle near cannabis paraphernalia.
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In the kitchen, dishes are stacked in the sink, empty bottles, wrappers, and fast-food bags are on the floor, and empty cans and food packages litter the countertops.
Bags of clothes and balls are in the bathtub stained with what looks like urine near the toilet.
Sentencing Marsden and Boden this afternoon, Judge Amanda Tipples said they were both “persuasive and accomplished liars” and that “they both knew that Finley was very, very ill” in the days before his death.
She said: “From all the evidence, I am certain that the injuries were caused on at least two separate occasions, through sustained brutal attacks.”
He added: “He was subjected to repeated abuse on multiple occasions. Once the injuries were inflicted, Finley’s daily experience was one of considerable pain, anguish and suffering.”
The judge went on to say: “It was obvious to both of us on December 16 that Finley was seriously injured and absolutely miserable.
“He couldn’t sit up and play with his toys anymore. He couldn’t feed himself.”
She added: “By the night of December 23, I was clearly dying. There was nothing subtle about it at all. It was clearly obvious to both of us.”
“The events surrounding the final days of Finley’s life are terrible to describe and extremely distressing.”