When the horrors surrounding the murder of toddler Ethan Ives-Griffiths came to light, details of the violent household he lived in, did not surprise everyone.

The two-year-old was murdered by grandparents Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, at their home in Garden City, Flintshire, in August 2021.

Ethan’s paternal grandmother, Kellie Shone, believes something sinister had been building for years, describing the home as “like a cult”, where Michael Ives would threaten to kill his children and grandchildren to control them through fear.

The couple are due to be sentenced for murder on Friday, alongside Ethan’s mother, Shannon Ives, 28, who was found guilty of causing or allowing her son’s death, and child cruelty.

“I’ve seen messages, where he’s messaged Shannon saying he was going to run her over and her kid – the eldest,” said Ms Shone, referring to Michael Ives.

“‘I’m going to run you and your son over’.

“When she fell pregnant with the next child, he was going to kick it out of her stomach – words out of his mouth that he has texted his own daughter.”

This was the environment Ms Shone believes Ethan was entering when he went to live with his maternal grandparents for seven weeks after his mother split from his father, Will Griffiths.

During that time Ethan became severely malnourished and underweight, and had multiple bruises on his body.

He died from a catastrophic brain injury, caused by one, or both of his grandparents.

Members of Ethan’s paternal family have told BBC Wales Michael Ives was abusive and controlling, and worried he would lose power over his daughter Shannon if she was in a relationship.

Ethan’s father, Will Griffiths, started seeing Shannon, who had a son from a previous relationship, in 2016.

Recalling their first meeting, he said: “Michael threatened to run all of us over.

“So from that day on, I knew he wasn’t a nice person, and I kept my distance from him.”

Ethan collapsed from a massive brain injury on 14 August 2021.

Two days later, he died after his life support was withdrawn.

His grandmother visited him in hospital before he died, and knew instantly his injuries were not accidental.

“He was just covered from head to toe in bruises,” Ms Shone said.

“They had lights all around him and he was just lying there on a bed with tubes and wires coming out of him, with his little nappy on – that was wrapped that many times right the way round because of how much weight he’d lost.

“It was heartbreaking to see him, just lying there motionless.

“I’m wondering what on earth – who on earth – has done this to him, because there’s no way any of that was accidental.

“I saw fingerprints, hand marks, all the bruises – just on a little boy.”

Within hours of Ethan’s death, his father Mr Griffths was already pointing the finger of suspicion.

Ms Shone recalled: “As soon as Will came home from the hospital, he turned round and said ‘he’s killed my son’.

“Straight away he said Michael had killed his son.”

During the trial in June and July, Shannon Ives described her parents as “horrible”, when she was growing up.

“We would get punched, kicked and have the belt used on us,” she said.

CCTV images taken from the Ives’ own security cameras showed the abuse Ethan had suffered, which included being made to hold his hands on his head.

Det Con Lee Harshey-Jones, North Wales Police’s lead investigator on the case, said it was a “feature of the Ives household” that children were put into a “stress position”.

Ms Shone said: “Making them stand there for hours.

“I don’t even know a child that can stand with their arms on their head longer than five or 10 minutes.”

Mr Griffiths added: “It’s painful and it’s hard to do.

“And my son had to do it for hours.”

For about 12 weeks in 2016, Shannon Ives and her only child at the time moved out of her parents’ house and in with friend Hannah Jones.

“It’s clear there was violence in that household,” she said.

“And the day I went there to help them move out, the minute we stepped through the door, it was an argument straight away.

“And threats – ‘you leave this house, you don’t come back, you stupid cow’.”

Ms Jones said Shannon Ives told her she had an abusive childhood and was scared of her dad.

She explained marks on her body by saying “it was just what dad was like”.

“Which is what encouraged me to help her get out of there and get her off to a refuge to begin a fresh start, a fresh life away from her parents,” Ms Jones added.

For some, this raises even more questions.

Ethan’s aunt, Lillie Shone, said: “She didn’t have a great childhood and that is fair to say.

“But if you knew that your parents treated you that way… why would you take your own children back there and let them get treated that way?”

Further evidence of violence in the Ives household emerged in text messages read to the court, in which the couple were branded “child beaters” by their own son.

In one message, Kerry Ives told her adult son: “I don’t know why you keep saying he’s a bad dad, because he ain’t.”

The son replied: “He needs help for the way he’s treated all us kids.”

Lillie Shone said no sentence was long enough, adding: “They should bring back the death penalty for cases like this.”

Kellie Shone said her feelings towards all three defendants were “anger, hate, hurt”.

She added: “There’s so many questions I just want to ask them, starting with why? Why Ethan, why him?

“The one that smiled the most – why him?”