Finley Boden: Chesterfield parents who killed baby on Christmas Day will not have sentences increased

The pair had been convicted of the “savage and brutal murder” of Finley Boden who died on Christmas Day, in 2020, with 130 separate injuries. He was killed just 39 days after being returned to the care of Marsden and Boden.

A trial at Derby Crown Court heard the pair, both drug addicts, had subjected the boy to ‘horrific abuse’ and he was found to have 46 rib fractures, 12 other bone fractures including to his pelvis, both legs, and both collar bones.

Marsden, 22, was sentenced to a minimum term of 27 years in jail whilst Boden, 29, will spend at least 29 years in prison before being eligible for release.

But those sentences were referred to the Attorney General for review under the unduly lenient sentencing scheme – opening up the possibility that they could be re-sentenced at the Court of Appeal.

It has now been announced that the referrals were unsuccessful. It is rare for murder sentences to be successfully referred with the scheme only allowing for sentences to be re-examined in circumstances where the sentencing judge made a ‘gross error’ or misapplied the sentencing guidelines.

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As reported, at the sentencing hearing held on May 26, High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples told Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden they had subjected him to “unimaginable cruelty”.

Jailing them both for life, she said: “Finley was a lovely, baby. He was happy, smiling and chuckling. He was just 10 months old when you murdered him. The facts in relation to his last days are terrible to describe.

"He died of endocarditis and pneumonia and septicemia because of extensive fractures to his bones which, acting together, you inflicted on him.

"You deliberately failed to make sure he was seen by anyone who could rescue him – medical intervention could have saved his life.

If he had been given antibiotics, he would have made a complete recovery.”

In a statement read out to the court Boden’s sister Sarah Gamble described him and Marsden as “monsters”.

She said: “I cannot comprehend how parents could murder him in such a horrific way – my bother and Shannon knew they had a supportive family.

"They could have approached any of us for help – instead they hid Finley away, subjecting him to the most horrific abuse.

"I can only describe you both as monsters for what you have done. We will always reflect on what a beautiful ray of sunlight Finley was."

Following the hearing, Detective Inspector Stephen Shaw, who led the investigation into Finley’s death, said: “Today we have seen a mother and father jailed for what is, quite simply, an incomprehensible crime.

“Over the course of a little more than a month Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden assaulted their son Finley leaving him with 57 fractured bones across his tiny body.

“The heart-breaking reality is that Finley’s last days would have been spent in immense pain – a fact that would have been abundantly clear to both his parents.