Lola James: Mum tells court she wishes she had 'never set eyes on' boyfriend Kyle Bevan

A mother accused of causing or allowing her two-year-old daughter’s death told police that her boyfriend had “petrified” the toddler and that she wishes she had “never set eyes on him”.

Lola James, from Haverfordwest, died in hospital on 21 July 2020 after suffering a "catastrophic" head injury and 101 external injuries.

Sinead James, 30, is charged with causing or allowing the death of her daughter. Her boyfriend, Kyle Bevan, 31, is charged with murder. Both defendants deny the charges.

On Thursday, the last three police interviews with Sinead James on 26 January 2021 were read to the court.  

The defendant said that her boyfriend, Kyle Bevan, was "aggressive" after taking Xanax.

In one incident, James said that Bevan was “off his head” on Xanax and was like he was “possessed on it”.She said: “He hit my lightswitch with a hammer and was punching the walls and sofa."

"He was in my face so I pushed him out the way and got (Lola) out of my house.”

On one occasion, James sent a message to a friend saying that Bevan had “petrified” Lola and that she needed to get him off Xanax. Bevan assured her that he wouldn’t touch it again.

Bevan also took cannabis, Valium and amphetamine ‘bombs’. When asked why she only told Bevan to stop taking Xanax, she said that he “wasn’t as aggressive” after taking the other drugs.The defendant also admitted that she had taken amphetamines a week or two before Lola was injured, when she wasn’t looking after her daughter.

When asked if the drugs escalated, the defendant said that she “never used to touch drugs” before she met Kyle and “didn’t drink half as much”.

She said it was down to “peer pressure”.

James also told the police about an incident when Bevan had “grabbed” her arm after trying to take her phone. She said the incident “left a bruise” on her arm and left her feeling “shook up”. 

She said: “I was scared. I thought he was going to hit me.”

When asked why James didn’t call the police, the defendant said that she “didn’t want to escalate things” and was “too ashamed and scared to ask for help”.

The police also asked Sinead James about their family dog, American bulldog Jessie - who Kyle Bevan claims pushed Lola down the stairs.

The defendant said the dog would jump up but Lola would shout “Down” and the dog would listen. James said she never saw the dog injuring Lola, and was only told about this by Kyle.

She said if she was aware the dog was injuring Lola, she would have removed it from the house.

The post-mortem results concluded that there were no paw, claw or bite marks on the two-year-old.

The defendant later said that wishes “she’d never set eyes” on her boyfriend.

This marks the end of the prosecution case. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty and the trial continues.