A pair of 'cruel and pitiless' lesbian killers who Googled 'can wives be in prison together' have been jailed for life today for battering two-year-old Liam Fee to death and trying to blame the murder on another boy.

Toddler Liam suffered more than 30 external injuries when he was beaten to death by his mother Rachel Fee, 31, and her partner Nyomi Fee, 29, at their home near Glenrothes, Fife, east Scotland.

The couple, who were convicted of the shocking murder following a seven-week trial, have now been sentenced to life in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh by a judge who condemned their 'cruel and pitiless regime of ill-treatment and neglect'.

Receiving mandatory life sentences, Nyomi Fee was ordered to spend a minimum of 24 years in prison, while Liam's mother Rachel was told she must serve behind bars for 23-and-a-half years.

They are currently being held in different prisons - one at HMP Cornton Vale in Stirling and another at an Edinburgh jail - and it is expected they will remain apart as co-accused defendants are usually not housed in the same prison.

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Rachel Fee, 31, (left) and her civil partner Nyomi Fee, 29, (right) have been jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh today for murdering two-year-old Liam Fee. Liam's mother Rachel was sentenced to life in prison and told to serve 23-and-a-half years, while her lesbian partner was jailed for life and ordered to serve at least 24 years

The couple were convicted of murder after little Liam died when his heart ruptured from blows to his chest

The pair displayed little emotion as their sentences were delivered, one after the other, and there was silence in the packed courtroom as the pair were led away to the cells.

Liam's father Joseph Johnson looked straight ahead as the women were told the punishment parts of their life sentences.

The court had heard how defenceless Liam died at his home in March 2014 having suffered 'car crash-style injuries' including a ruptured heart as a result of severe blunt force trauma to his body.

The trial heard how the two killers, originally from Ryton, Tyne and Wear, carried out two years of sustained attacks on the toddler and two other boys as social services repeatedly failed to act.

The pair's depraved abuse included imprisoning one boy in a cage made from a fire guard, using cable ties to bind his hands behind his back.

They also tied another boy naked to a chair in a dark room with nine snakes and several rats, forcing him to eat his own vomit and telling him a boa constrictor 'ate naughty little boys'. They also forced the youngsters to take cold showers when they wet the bed.

Sentencing them today, Lord Burns told the killers: 'Each of you had responsibility for the care and welfare of the three young children with whom this case was concerned.

'You both grossly abused those responsibilities and subjected them to a cruel and pitiless regime of ill treatment and neglect while in your joint care.

'In the case of Liam that ill-treatment included the assault which caused his death and for which the jury convicted you of his murder.'

He added that it appeared from the video interviews with the boys that they were 'obviously and profoundly damaged' by the women's treatment of them.

'It cannot be known what permanent damage has been inflicted but it is a tribute to the care they have had since that date that they now appear to have substantially recovered,' he said.

'In respect of Liam it was plain from the evidence of those independent carers who looked after him and from the post-mortem examination that he had been subjected to a prolonged course of violent behaviour which caused him appalling suffering both physically and mentally and ultimately caused his death at the age of two-and-a-half.'

When Liam needed urgent hospital treatment, the couple Googled whether they could stay together in prison

The court had heard how two-year-old Liam Fee (pictured) died at his home in March 2014 having suffered 'car crash-style injuries' including a ruptured heart as a result of severe blunt force trauma to his body

The youngster died at the family home near Glenrothes in Fife, east Scotland in March 2014 (police outside)

Lord Burns said all the offences are aggravated by the breach of the responsibilities they shared and by the age and vulnerability of the children.

'Other than accepting guilt for the neglect of Liam in the week prior to his death, you have shown no remorse for your actions,' he added.

The couple had denied killing Liam and instead tried to blame his death on one of two other young boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

However, a jury of eight women and six men found them guilty by majority of assault and murder after a seven-week trial at the High Court in Livingston.

JUDGE: 'YOU SUBJECTED THEM TO A CRUEL AND PITILESS REGIME' Lord Burns told the killers: 'Each of you had responsibility for the care and welfare of the three young children with whom this case was concerned. 'You both grossly abused those responsibilities and subjected them to a cruel and pitiless regime of ill treatment and neglect while in your joint care. 'In the case of Liam that ill-treatment included the assault which caused his death and for which the jury convicted you of his murder.' He added that it appeared from the video interviews with the boys that they were 'obviously and profoundly damaged' by the women's treatment of them. 'It cannot be known what permanent damage has been inflicted but it is a tribute to the care they have had since that date that they now appear to have substantially recovered,' he said. 'In respect of Liam it was plain from the evidence of those independent carers who looked after him and from the post-mortem examination that he had been subjected to a prolonged course of violent behaviour which caused him appalling suffering both physically and mentally and ultimately caused his death at the age of two-and-a-half.' Advertisement

Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the court the women were guilty of 'unyielding, heartless cruelty'.

In harrowing evidence, the jury heard Liam had suffered heart injuries similar to those found on road crash victims, with more than 30 external injuries on his body including blows to his chest and abdomen.

The court heard the pair knew Liam had a broken leg and fractured arm but instead of seeking help they searched the internet for terms including 'how do you die of a broken hip?' and 'can wives be in prison together?'.

Jurors heard there had been an escalation of violence towards the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy leading up to his death.

Their 'callous indifference' to his injuries would have left the child in agony, but the killers refused to get him medical aid, choosing instead to search the internet on their phones under terms such as 'how long can you live with a broken bone?'.

Under oath, the women admitted serious failings over the lack of medical help sought for Liam and put it down to fears the child would be taken into care.

But they denied murder and, as part of their web of lies, tried to shift the blame for the killing on to a boy of only primary school age, who they claimed had been acting in a sexualised way towards Liam.

The boy was so scared of the women he initially told police and social workers that he had 'strangled' the toddler - but suffocation was not the cause of death.

The evidence pointed to a significant delay between the discovery by the women that Liam was dead and the emergency services being contacted by a seemingly hysterical Fee shortly before 8pm on the night in question.

The 'panicking' pair used the time instead to dismantle a makeshift cage they had built to imprison the youngster they falsely accused of killing Liam.

The couple - who had no previous convictions - were found guilty of all eight charges against them, with a majority verdict returned on the murder charge.

As well as causing the injuries which led to Liam's death, the lesbian pair also kept another boy in this cage

Pictures from the Fees' home show the chains used to tie one boy to a bed during their string of child cruelty

A picture taken at the house where Liam died shows a tie to a bed where the women abused the boys

YEARS OF ABUSE: THE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES TO SAVE LITTLE LIAM August 2011: Liam is born to mother Rachel Fee (then Trelfa) and father Joseph Johnson. December 2011: She leaves Mr Johnson for Nyomi Fee. The couple live in hotels around Newcastle before moving to Fife, Scotland. Easter 2012: Contact with Liam's father stops. June 2012: Rachel and Nyomi become civil partners. July 2012: Liam starts going to childminder Heather Farmer, who lives nearby. January 2013: Mrs Farmer tells Scottish Childminding Association and Care Inspectorate Liam has bruises and stops looking after him. A police officer and social worker visit Liam's home but leave when told he has bumped his head. March 2013: Liam starts nursery. Staff contact social services over bruises and scratches. April 2013: A social worker assigned to Liam goes off work sick. Liam dropped 'off the radar', a Fife Council manager later admitted to the court. September 2013: A woman contacts social workers as she is worried Liam looks 'deathly' and could be being drugged. March 19, 2014: The Fees search Google for terms including: 'Will a hip fracture heal on its own?', and 'Can wives go to prison together?'. March 22, 2014: Liam is found dead at home with an untreated broken leg. August 2, 2014: The couple are arrested and charged but claim another young boy is to blame. Advertisement

They were convicted of assaulting Liam over more than two years prior to his death and of ill-treating and neglecting him from January 2012 onwards.

The jury also convicted them of horrific abuses against two boys, who cannot be named because of their age.

These included denying the youngsters access to the toilet then forcing them to take cold showers when they wet the bed; imprisoning one in a home-made cage; and tying another naked to a chair in a dark room where snakes and rats were kept after telling him that a boa constrictor ate naughty boys.

Brian McConnachie QC, representing Rachel Fee, told the court that she 'fully accepts a responsibility in relation to the failure to obtain medical treatment for Liam's broken leg'.

'In relation, however, to the remainder of the charges and the guilty verdict, she maintains her position that effectively so far as she's concerned there has been a miscarriage of justice in that she did not commit these offences.'

He said his client had 'effectively been disowned by her entire family', adding: 'She is going to spend this very lengthy period of custody very much alone in the sense that there's really no-one to visit her, there's no-one to write to her, except perhaps her partner.'

Mr McConnachie said: 'Rachel Fee has to live with the fact that her two-year-old son is dead, she has been convicted of his murder and she will never see him again.'

Mark Stewart QC, for Fee, said: 'In the course of her evidence she accepted responsibility for the neglect of Liam Fee in relation to failing to obtain medical assistance for the leg injury which transpired to be a fracture.

'She accepted in her evidence that was an unforgivable breach in her responsibility towards a child.

'My client maintains her plea of innocence in relation to the remainder of the indictment but she acknowledges and respects the verdict of the jury, with which she disagrees.'

A significant case review is now being carried out into the circumstances leading up to Liam's death after a number of witnesses told the trial they had raised concerns about the toddler's health and wellbeing with social services.

Following today's sentencing, Detective Inspector Rory Hamilton - who led the investigation - said: 'The thoughts of all those connected to our investigation remain with Liam's wider family and those who knew him during his short life.

'The sentences today reflect the seriousness of the crimes committed by Rachel and Nyomi Fee; they also reflect the joint commitment of Police Scotland and partners to bringing to justice those who commit acts of violence against the most vulnerable in our communities.

'I would again commend the two young boys whose evidence played such a vital part in securing the convictions and bringing their abusers, and the women who murdered Liam, to justice.'

Rachel Fee (left) and her civil partner Nyomi Fee have both been jailed for life for the 'cruel and pitiless' killing

The court heard the pair knew Liam (above) had a broken leg and arm but instead of seeking help they searched the web for terms such as 'how do you die of a broken hip?' and 'can wives be in prison together?'

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham, lead officer for Major Crime and Public Protection, added: 'Police Scotland is committed to protecting those who are at risk of abuse and violence in our communities and to working with our partners to ensure child protection is a priority.

'We will work with our child protection partners to ensure that the Significant Case Review identifies any recommendations which can be taken forward to ensure communities have the utmost confidence in protective and welfare services.'

Matt Forde, Head of Service for NSPCC Scotland, also welcomed the lengthy jail-terms handed out.

He said: 'Those responsible for Liam's brutal murder have quite rightly received long jail terms. It is incomprehensible how two people who were meant to look after the children in their care could subject them to such appalling abuse.

'They chose to murder a defenceless child in the most horrific way, abuse other children and shamefully attempted to shift the blame for Liam's death on to another child.

'Details of the horrendous abuse this couple inflicted on Liam and the other children were shocking to hear and the sentences passed today reflect the brutality of their crimes.

'Fife Child Protection Committee has already begun a Significant Case Review into this case and it is vital that the investigation is carried out thoroughly so action can be taken to prevent other children from suffering as Liam did before his murder, his short life scarred by neglect, abuse and violence.

'The two boys who survived the abuse will need support, stability and love to help them come to terms with their experiences and begin to recover.'

Meanwhile, Scottish charity Children 1st welcomed a case review into the handling of the case.

A spokesman said: 'Liam and the two other boys in this case experienced horrifying levels of prolonged physical and mental abuse. For Liam that suffering only ended with his death - at the hands of Rachel and Nyomi Fee, the carers he depended on for safety and love.

'Liam's plight has shocked Scotland. It will have taken tremendous courage for the two other boys involved to speak about their experiences. It is down to their bravery and the skills of the joint investigative interviewers in building the boys' trust that justice has been done in this terrible case.

'When done well joint investigative interviews result in better quality evidence, improve trial processes and reduce the risk of children suffering further trauma.

'We welcome the Scottish Courts and Justice Board's work to achieve more consistent practice in this area. Scotland-wide use of robust, pre-recorded joint investigative interviews, backed by sufficient training and resources, is one important legacy that can rise from this awful tragedy.'

The killers, who were in custody in the same prison during their trial, are now expected to be split up.

Their cells were on different floors inside the Ross House building at HMP Cornton Vale, where remand inmates are kept.

But the pair, who regularly held hands on their way in and out of their trial, were said to have been able to meet over a coffee.

A prison source said: 'They will have met. They are on different floors but there will be times during the day when the cells are open and they will be able to associate.

'They are not sharing a cell. Prisoners can go out of their cells to eat in the hall. It will have been risk-assessed.

'Once they are sentenced it will be unlikely that they can associate with each other.'

A Scottish Prison Service spokeswoman said: 'We do not comment on individual prisoners.'

THE CATALOGUE OF SICKENING ABUSE SUFFERED BY THE WOMEN'S TWO OTHER VICTIMS: BOY TOLD POLICE HE WAS TIED NAKED TO A CAGE Details of the horrific abuse inflicted upon two young boys were laid bare over the course of the Liam Fee trial. The two youngsters, both of primary school age, were subjected to painful and degrading treatment at the women's hands. The court heard that among a catalogue of examples of bad treatment, the boys were: Denied access to the toilet then forced to take freezing showers when they wet the bed;

Beaten, smacked and called humiliating names;

Deprived of food as a punishment;

One was tied to a locked home-made cage at night-time;

Another was tied naked to a chair and left alone in the dark in a room with snakes and rats in boxes. The evidence emerged over two weeks of evidence during the trial, in which more than 20 hours of recorded interviews conducted separately with the boys were played to the jury. Instead to getting Liam medical attention, the women Googled 'can wives be in prison together?' One boy told police he was tied to a bed and given cold showers before having to stand in the cold to dry The Crown began with hearing from the youngster the couple wrongly blamed for Liam's death, who was questioned by a female police officer and a male social worker on various occasions in the weeks after the toddler died. The interviews started when the small boy dressed in jeans and a T-shirt walked in and sat on a sofa, tucking his legs up beside him. The jury heard the boy tell how he was not allowed to get up to go to the toilet during the night, which sometimes meant he would wet the bed .He told interviewers he would then 'have to get a shower, a cold one' as a punishment, which would leave him 'shaking'. The boy said he would then have to stand on a towel in the corridor of the house and would have to drip dry there, sometimes without even a vest on. He later told how he had been tied to a locked home-made cage during the night. The boy told police his hands and feet would be bound with cable ties to the makeshift cage constructed out of a fireguard and bars. The child also described how he would sometimes be naked in the cage and had his hands tied behind his back on occasion. At other times he would be tied to a cot with a dressing-gown cord and coat belts. The same boy also said he fell unconscious when Fee put her foot on his neck as he lay on a floor. She also smacked and punched the child during the attack. Liam's bedroom. The two-year-old was found dead after repeated concerns were raised about his welfare The trial further heard how the boy tried to flee on three separate occasions from the Fees' house, and had even made a rope out of bandages to aid his escape. 'I tried to run away because of bad treatment,' the boy said. Later, it was the turn of the second boy, who said he was banned from going to the toilet in the night but given cold showers 'for 15 or 20 minutes' if he wet the bed. One day he spent the whole day in a cold shower, drip drying in between. In the video interviews, the boy said Fee tied him naked to a chair and left him alone in a room all night in the dark, with snakes and rats in boxes. The boy, who said he is scared of the dark, said the snakes included a boa constrictor which he was told 'eats naughty little boys'. He said he 'felt unsafe' with both women and was 'scared' of being punished when he stayed with them. Advertisement

Police praise courage of two young boys who had themselves been subjected to a long-running 'catalogue of significant abuse'

The courage of two young boys was crucial in allowing police to unravel the web of lies spun by the two women responsible for Liam Fee's death.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Rory Hamilton said the evidence of the children, who suffered a catalogue of horrific abuse at the hands of Rachel Trelfa and Nyomi Fee, was the key to securing their conviction.

Both primary school age children were present in the house on the night Liam died, and within minutes of police arriving the women had pointed the finger of blame.

Little Liam is pictured playing with a toy piano at nursery, where staff raised concerns about his health

The young boy they accused appeared to admit responsibility, telling officers he had 'strangled' the toddler by putting his hands over his mouth.

It was not long before it became apparent that Liam's death was no tragic accident but something far more sinister.

The truth was teased out over the course of the following weeks, in five video recorded interviews conducted separately with both children.

The carefully planned interviews were carried out by a public protection officer trained in questioning children and a social worker, who slowly won the trust of the initially 'wary and withdrawn' boys.

Mr Hamilton said: 'During those video recorded interviews, it became quite clear that both, along with Liam, would appear to have been subjected to a catalogue of significant abuse over quite a long period of time.

Soft toys were left at the scene after the youngster's tragic death. His mother denied she was to blame

'What was significant was that each was corroborating each other's events to quite a significant extent, and when you took into account the fact they had been separated immediately upon the police arrival, that was very good evidence.'

Mr Hamilton added: 'It is not plausible for two (young boys) to get together, make up a story of such elaborate nature and then be expected to stick to that, so I'm in absolutely no doubt of what has happened and the importance and the courage that (the children) have shown in giving their evidence to the police.

'Without the evidence of the boys it clearly would have been very, very difficult to have got this case to court.'