**Grandparents on Trial as Court Hears Emotional 999 Call After Young Boy Collapses**
The trial concerning the tragic death of two-year-old Ethan Ives-Griffiths has continued at Mold Crown Court, with jurors hearing a heart-wrenching emergency call following the toddler’s collapse in August 2021. His grandparents, Kerry and Michael Ives, both from Kingsley Road, Garden City, Deeside, face charges of murder, which they have denied. The case has brought to light a series of distressing events in the days leading to Ethan’s death.
In a key moment during proceedings, the prosecution led by Caroline Rees KC played the disturbing recording of Kerry Ives contacting the emergency services. Struggling to control her voice, Mrs Ives was heard telling the 999 operator, “He’s gone all limp,” while attempting to resuscitate her grandson, who had suddenly fallen ill at their Deeside residence. Throughout the call, the handler provided urgent instructions as the situation rapidly deteriorated.
Michael Ives’s voice could also be heard during the call, describing Ethan as “unresponsive.” With consent from the call handler, he left to collect a defibrillator in a desperate attempt to save the boy’s life, but despite their efforts, paramedics arrived to find Ethan in a critical state. The court was told that the child had sustained around 40 injuries, with one paramedic carrying him swiftly to the waiting ambulance outside.
Despite being taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Merseyside, Ethan tragically died two days after the initial emergency at the family home on 14 August 2021. The jury—comprising seven women and five men—listened intently as evidence was detailed about Ethan’s last moments, including the playback of police bodycam footage showing officers entering the Deeside address in the aftermath of the 999 call.
In the bodycam footage, Michael Ives recounted an incident from the previous day, claiming the child fell backwards and hit his head on the rug after he was unable to break his grandson’s fall. “I managed to bring him round after three minutes and he was fine,” Mr Ives explained to officers, before describing Ethan’s normal eating and his activities earlier that day. However, just after 9pm, Michael told police, Ethan again collapsed, becoming limp and unresponsive despite attempts to revive him with water and fresh air outdoors.
Significantly, evidence was provided that in the weeks prior, Ethan’s mother, Shannon Ives, 28, had struggled in her parenting role. The jury heard that Shannon, also on trial but facing charges of causing or allowing her son’s death and child cruelty, had messaged relatives and healthcare professionals expressing her frustration with Ethan’s behaviour. On one occasion, she messaged she was “sick of speaking to Ethan,” and in another text used the phrase “CBA today,” which the court accepted to mean “Can’t be a***d.”
As the court heard, Shannon and Ethan had been living with the Ives grandparents since June 2021. On 13 August, Shannon informed a health visitor that Ethan was “really poorly,” but declined a doctor’s visit, attributing his symptoms to a lack of sleep and treating him with Calpol. Yet, it emerged through CCTV evidence that Ethan was taken to a Tesco store with his grandparents that very day, despite his mother’s previous concerns about his health.
Further CCTV footage was shown to the court, capturing scenes at the family home and garden in the days leading up to the tragedy. In one clip dated 12 August, Michael Ives was seen carrying Ethan by an arm and placing him into a car, with the prosecutor noting “two downward motions” inside the vehicle. Additional footage depicted Ethan on a trampoline, visibly struggling after being sprayed with water from a hose by Michael Ives; moments later, the child had difficulty standing.
During the daytime on 16 August, CCTV images revealed Ethan’s attempts to interact with another child on the trampoline, repeatedly holding his head, as Michael Ives watched from nearby. These video exhibits have been crucial elements in the prosecution’s case, providing glimpses of the boy’s final interactions before his collapse.
All three defendants—Kerry and Michael Ives, along with Shannon Ives—have denied all charges against them, maintaining their innocence. The trial, which continues, is expected to scrutinise the circumstances surrounding Ethan’s death in greater detail in the coming days, as the court examines what went so tragically wrong for the two-year-old in the care of his family.
Members of the public and interested parties are following the case closely, as it raises difficult questions about familial responsibility, child safeguarding, and the tragic consequences when warning signs are overlooked or misunderstood.