Lola James' mum says she thought children were not in danger

Sinead James, 30, of Neyland, is on trial at Swansea Crown Court for causing or allowing her daughter's death – which she denies.

Bevan, 31, of Aberystwyth, denies murdering Lola.

In an interview with police officers in January 2021, James was asked what she had done to protect her children.

“I never thought they were in major danger,” she said. “I never thought he would hurt my children.”

She was asked about the Freedom Programme – which offers support and advice to victims of domestic abuse. James completed the course in 2016, and started it again in January 2020, but stopped as “they were telling me the same stuff”.

“Did Kyle Bevan show any of these behaviours?,” the officers asked.

“Some of them,” she said.

“You were content at that time that Kyle Bevan is capable of looking after your children?,” the officers asked.

“Yes,” she said. “They were safe with me.”

Lola James died on July 21, 2020, after suffering “catastrophic” head trauma (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)

James told officers Bevan would have a “bomb” of amphetamine “once a week” and smoked cannabis “every day”.

She said Bevan took Xanax “two or three times”, and that it made him go “off his head”.

“That’s when he hit my lamp, was punching walls, and took a hammer to my light switch,” she said.

“He was in my face. I pushed him away and took my children out of the house,” she said about the second time.

“Were you allowing him to take drugs in your house with your children there?,” the officers asked.

“I wouldn’t allow him to take it in front of my children,” she said. “He could have been outside or upstairs.

“I made him smoke [his cannabis] in the garden.

“I wouldn’t allow him to watch my children if he was off his face.”

She said she was unaware of if Bevan had taken any drugs on July 16.

“Why haven’t you done something about his behaviour?,” the officers asked.

“I wish I had,” she said.

Sinead James was accused by officers of failing to act after her children were injured in Kyle Bevan's care. (Image: Athena Picture Agency)

James described an incident where she was left with bruising after Bevan grabbed her by the arm trying to take her phone.

She said she went to a neighbour’s house as “It really shook me”.

“Why didn’t you call the police?,” the officers asked.

“I didn’t want to escalate things,” James said.

When asked about why she returned to the house, or why she didn’t tell him to leave, she said: “I was scared, I was scared. I thought he was going to hit me. It’s what I am used to with men.”

The officers asked what she would do if Bevan came home “off his face”.

“I’d have told him to go to his mate’s house and sort himself out,” she said.

James was asked about messages she sent to Bevan which read ‘You have been abusing me. Get out now’ and ‘I’ll ring the police if you carry on’.

“You don’t mind confrontation do you Sinead?,” the officers asked.

“It’s over message,” she said. “I wouldn’t have said that to him. I was at Casey’s.

“I never rang the police.”

Kyle Bevan claims the family dog knocked Lola James down the stairs on the morning of July 17, 2020. (Image: Facebook)

James was asked whether the dog had been involved in any incidents with her children before they took it on.

“I’d have got rid of it,” she said. “The kids had seen it at my father’s. It never jumped up at them then.”

She said they had the dog for around three weeks, and that during that period it had been involved in “loads” of alleged incidents – but “none that I’ve seen”.

“[The incident with Lola] was the final straw. It was gone. That day I told my father to come and get it,” she said.

When asked about safety measures in the house, James said: “I didn’t think there was a need to have a stairgate on the top of the stairs as there was one on the bedroom and Lola and [her younger sister] couldn’t open it.”

The officers shared details of Lola’s injuries from the post-mortem report with James.

“I don’t know what’s happened. I’m just going on what I’ve been told,” she said.

She was told about the puncture marks to Lola’s forehead and bruising to her thigh.

“Has Kyle told you how they were caused?”

“No,” she said.

The trial continues.