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Grandparents Testify Differing Accounts in Toddler’s 2021 Murder Trial

The jury must weigh Michael Ives’s admission of cruelty against Kerry Ives’s denial of witnessing or encouraging the fatal assault

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Overview

  • Under cross-examination, Michael Ives admitted he was “cruel and neglectful” and said he felt ashamed for allowing his grandson’s decline
  • Kerry Ives told the court she did not see, help with or encourage any assault on Ethan on August 14, 2021, and described him as a “bubbly little child”
  • CCTV from August 4 shows Michael carrying Ethan by his upper arm “like a ragdoll,” an action he acknowledged without offering an excuse
  • Prosecutors have presented medical testimony on mixed-age brain bleeds and evidence of over 40 bruises to support allegations of repeated forceful abuse
  • The jury will now reconcile these conflicting testimonies with forensic findings to determine who is responsible for Ethan’s catastrophic head injuries