R v Michael Ives & Anor

When prolonged child cruelty culminates in murder, the sentencing judge may sentence the cruelty separately and reflect it through totality, then sentence the murder for its additional criminality. The judge must stand back and ensure that the overall minimum term reflects the whole offending without double counting. The current guideline at sentence applies, but the sentence cannot exceed the statutory maximum at the date of offending; a new culpability category may be taken into account by adjusting the starting point. An appellate court should respect the trial judge’s evaluative assessment and intervene only for a sentence outside the available range, gross error, undue leniency or manifest excess. Expert evidence of low intelligence or psychological disorder does not require reduced culpability where adequate reasons are given.

Following a jury trial in the Crown Court at Mold, Michael and Kerry Ives were convicted of murder and cruelty to a child. Shannon Ives was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 and of child cruelty. The trial judge imposed life sentences with minimum terms of 23 years for Michael and 17 years for Kerry, and concurrent terms of 12 years and 5 years for Shannon. The Solicitor General referred Michael and Kerry’s sentences as unduly lenient. Shannon sought leave to appeal against sentence. The central issues were whether the minimum terms were unduly lenient, whether Shannon’s sentence was excessive, and whether the judge properly applied the sentencing guidelines and the principle of totality.

The court granted leave for the Solicitor General’s references and granted Shannon leave to appeal, but declined to interfere with any sentence.

1. Appellate intervention. The sentencing judge was particularly well placed to assess the seriousness of the offending, individual culpability and personal mitigation. The court would intervene only where the sentence was outside the range reasonably available, involved a gross error, was unduly lenient or was manifestly excessive.
2. Totality and double counting. The judge’s structured approach was appropriate. He assessed the prolonged cruelty separately, excluding the final killing, and then assessed the additional criminality of the murder under Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020. He then applied a limited totality adjustment. The court confirmed that the prior cruelty must not be divorced from the murder assessment, but that the structured approach helped avoid double counting. The same result could have been reached by treating the earlier conduct as aggravating the murder, provided the total sentence remained just and proportionate.
3. Guidelines and historic maximums. The current sentencing guideline had to be applied at the date of sentence, subject to the lower statutory maximum applicable when the offences were committed. Respecting the new very high culpability category while adjusting the starting point to reflect the historic maximum involved no error. Shannon’s adjusted starting point of 12 years for the section 5 offence was permissible.
4. Individual culpability. The judge was entitled to rely on his own assessment of Shannon, informed by the trial evidence and her conduct, alongside the psychological reports. Her low intelligence, mental health difficulties and developmental history did not require a lower culpability category. Kerry’s lesser sentence was justified by her secondary role and her principal fault in failing to protect Ethan, although she remained complicit in the intentional killing and prolonged cruelty.
5. Outcome. Michael’s minimum term of 23 years and Kerry’s minimum term of 17 years were not unduly lenient. Shannon’s sentence of 12 years was not excessive, still less manifestly excessive. The references and appeal were therefore unsuccessful.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): Granted leave for the Solicitor General’s references and granted Shannon Ives leave to appeal, but declined to interfere with any sentence: [2026] EWCA Crim 417.
• Crown Court at Mold: Following conviction, imposed life sentences with minimum terms of 23 years for Michael Ives and 17 years for Kerry Ives, and concurrent terms of 12 years and 5 years for Shannon Ives.