Lola James: The web of lies spun by 'monster' Kyle Bevan who filmed 'helpless' toddler dying

• Warning: Article contains details some readers may find distressing

Lola James was a ‘"happy, bubbly, beautiful" little girl.

She was two-and-a-half years old - her life had barely started. 

But on the 21 July 2020, during lockdown, her life was cut short.

Lola died in hospital after doctors spent days trying to save her life.

She had been assaulted, in what was described as a "frenzied attack", by her mother’s boyfriend - somebody she should have been able to trust. 

Five days earlier, Lola went to bed in their home in Haverfordwest with "hardly a scratch on her" but by the following morning, she was unconscious and seriously injured.

Details from the trial reveal how "monster" Kyle Bevan, 31, convicted of murdering the "helpless" two-year-old, spent an hour trying to cover up his tracks instead of calling paramedics for help.

• Timeline of events

On 16 July 2020, Bevan stayed up late with Lola taking pictures of her using Snapchat filters. He claims he then put her to bed.

A few minutes after midnight James said she heard a bang and a scream and found Bevan comforting Lola in her bedroom. He told her Lola had hit her head but said he was dealing with it. James went back to bed.

At 4.26am Lola is known to be conscious and upright because of a picture Bevan takes of injuries to her back.

At 6.30am, Kyle Bevan, who had moved into the family home four months prior, made a number of internet searches.

He searched for topics relating to babies suffering head injuries including: “My 2 year old child has just taken a bang to the head and gone all limp and snoring. What’s wrong”.

At 6.40am he phones his mother.

He claims he did so because she is a nurse. Ms Bevan is in fact a non-medically trained healthcare support worker.

Bevan continues trying to contact his mother, including sending her the photographs he has taken of Lola. She is asleep and she does not reply until 6.55am.

Seeing the pictures she immediately tells her son to take Lola to hospital.

He sends her a disturbing video that he filmed on his phone which shows him trying to prop-up the limp toddler on the sofa.

When she falls to the floor with a thud, he comments: “She’s gone. She’s gone.”

At 7am, Ms Bevan sends another message urging her son to wake James up and seek medical help. She continues to message Bevan for another 13 minutes but he is no longer replying.

At around 7.20am James said Bevan woke her up and told her Lola had fallen down the stairs, and showed her a piece of Lola’s tongue on his finger.

Just before 7.30am, nearly an hour after Bevan made the internet searches, he asks his mother to phone for an ambulance. It’s only at this point that he decides to wake up Lola's mother to tell her what has happened.

He needed this hour to concoct his lies and to cover up his tracks.

Two minutes later, Lola's mother Sinead James also calls for an ambulance and the paramedics arrive a few minutes later.

• Lola's injuries

Lola James was rushed to Withybush hospital just 10 minutes away from the family home.

It is there that Bevan becomes aggressive with doctors who are asking questions about Lola’s injuries.

She was then taken to Noah's Ark Hospital in Cardiff where she later died.

The postmortem results showed she died of a catastrophic head trauma and suffered 101 external injuries and extensive damage to both her eyes. 

The toddler’s brain injuries were described by doctors as similar to those seen in a high speed crash or a fall from a great height and not consistent with an accidental fall. 

• The house

Pictures released after the trial show the conditions of the house where Lola lived.

The family home was generally in a dirty and cluttered state. However, on the day Lola suffered those injuries, the bathroom was "spotless as if it had just been cleaned".

When the paramedics arrived, Lola was found scrubbed clean on the sofa and was wearing wet clothes. A blood and vomit-stained onesie was later found hidden in the living room.

Kyle Bevan claimed that Lola was pushed down the stairs by the family dog - something which the prosecution described as a deliberate lie to cover up his guilt.

Prosecuting, Caroline Rees said it was a "coward's escape" - and the jury believed this too.

After the guilty verdicts, police said he was so consumed by his own self-preservation, Bevan lied and fabricated an accidental stair fall to try and cover his tracks but, with the help of medical experts, we have been able to prove that his actions were deliberate, abhorrent and evil.”

• Sinead James

James was also found guilty of causing or allowing her daughter’s death.  On the stand, she described her boyfriend as a "monster" and said that she was scared of him.

But despite her own fears, James repeatedly told the court she'd had no concerns about Bevan being around her daughter. 

She knew Bevan had a history of "violent outbursts" and the prosecution argued she failed to protect her daughter from the harm he posed.

The court heard she was someone who had a network of supportive friends and family around her. But, she chose to prioritise Bevan’s needs over the safety of her own daughter.

• Lola

Swansea Crown Court heard how Lola was "petrified" of Bevan.

Sinead James told police that her boyfriend had frightened the toddler and that she wishes she had “never set eyes on him”.

However, the jury found that both Bevan and James were the ones who were supposed to protect Lola, but ultimately were responsible for her tragic short life.

On 25 April, Bevan was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the "brutal" and "unprovoked" attack on "defenceless" Lola.

Sinead James was sentenced to six years in jail, half of which she will serve in custody.