Finley Boden trial: Parents Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden guilty of murder

Finley Boden’s parents Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden will be sentenced at a later date. A jury deciding their fate returned their unanimous verdict this afternoon after a week of deliberations. A tearful Mrs Justice Tipples thanked jurors for their commitment during the “distressing” trial.

Finley Boden died just 39 days after being returned to parents Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden from care – on Christmas Day 2020.

During a five-month trial Derby Crown Court heard baby Finley Boden received breaks to his collar bone, shoulder, shin, thigh bones, pelvis and ribs and two burns in the days leading to his death.

Mary Prior KC described how Finley was subjected to “significant, substantial and repeated acts of severe violence” at the hands of his cannabis-addicted parents.

Boden, 29, and Marsden, 21, both denied murder, cruelty to a person under 16 and causing or allowing the death of a child. Other counts they were charged with were withdrawn after today’s verdict that both were guilty of murder.

Opening the trial, Mary Prior KC said: “Finley was born on February 15 2020 and died in the early hours of Christmas Day, 2020. He lived for 315 days.”

She told jurors Finley, removed from his parents’ care at birth, was “fit and well, safe and happy” until he was returned to Boden and Marsden on November 17, 2020.

Ms Prior said the multiple injuries caused to Finley would happened over a number of weeks between November and Christmas Day and would have caused “pain, swelling and restricted movement”.

She described how breaking Finley’s thigh – the strongest bone in the body – would have required “a lot of force”.

His broken pelvis indicated Finely had been “kicked” or “stamped” upon while a jury was shown photos of Finley’s blood-stained baby grow, bedding and cot.

Ultimately, the court heard, the “exhausted” tot developed a heart infection and sepsis as he was unable to clear mucus as a result of multiple rib fractures.

Jurors heard heavy cannabis smokers Boden and Marsden had their child returned and despite evidence of continuing use of the drug as late as September 2020, in October the same year Derbyshire County Council’s “recommendation” was that Finley be returned to the defendants.

His return to Boden and Marsden’s care full-time was to be supervised over an eight-week period with a 12-month supervision order monitoring “home conditions”.

In the weeks leading up to Finley’s death multiple texts were sent between drug dealers and the phone the defendants shared arranging deals.

One of the texts – sent on December 23 – read: “That bud's absolutely banging bro – probs the best in Old Whit.”

Marsden was said to have told a social worker on one occasion (Finley’s) dad had “killed” him “and his mum didn't see it coming”.

However a search was made on the phone Boden and Marsden shared on December 23, 2020, for “symptoms of sepsis” on the NHS website.

While various news headlines uncovered in phone searches included “child killer is jailed for 21 years”, “tragic story of Derby mum who killed her baby” and “starved toddler dies from head injury four months after social worker returns her to parents”.

In their defence cases Marsden was described as “foul mouthed, difficult and defensive" but not a killer, while Boden was portrayed as “too easy to blame” for Finley’s death.

Speaking about Marsden, Andrew Vout KC said his client had wanted the baby to be seen by a doctor, however this was ‘blocked’ by Boden, who it was alleged had already inflicted fractures and knew medics would discover them.

Boden's defence counsel Simon Kealey told the jury Marsden was “a pathological liar” and it was “almost too easy to blame Stephen Boden”.