Trelfa, 31, and her civil partner Nyomi Fee, 29, grossly abused their position of trust to inflict appalling suffering on two-year-old Liam Fee.
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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.
Liam was only two years old.
He had suffered fatal heart injuries similar to those found on road crash victims and spent the last few days of his short life in agony from an untreated broken leg and fractured arm.
Trefla and Fee tried to blame the death on a young boy but were convicted of Liam’s murder in May following a seven-week trial at the High Court in Livingston.
The couple denied killing Liam, blaming his death on one of two other young boys, who can not be named for legal reasons, but were convicted in May.
“In the case of Liam, that treatment included the assault which caused his death”.
The judge told the court that the two-year-old was “subjected to a prolonged course of violent behaviour”.
The case of was one of the most distressing ever heard in a Scottish courtroom, with some evidence reducing jury members to tears.
The couple reportedly showed no emotion as they were led from court following this morning’s sentencing.
Joseph Johnson looked straight ahead as the women were told the punishment parts of their life sentences.
Liam, along with two other boys whose names or ages can not be publicized to the media for legal reasons, had apparently been suffering for quite some time.
The pair were also in May convicted of a number of abuses against two other children, who can not be named for legal reasons.
This abuse involved being imprisoned in a home-made cage, given cold showers, tied up in a dark room where snakes and rats were kept, and forced to eat dog excrement, a court heard.
“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”.
Both Fee and Trelfa denied murder and falsely accused Liam’s death on another child, telling a 999 operator that he had strangled the toddler.
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And Nyomi Fee’s lawyer added that she disagrees with the jury’s verdict.
