Liam’s body was discovered in the home of his mother Nyomi Fee and her civil partner, Rachel this past March. The injuries that finally ended the two-year-old’s short life were so bad they could have been seen in a road crash victim, the court heard.
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After the boy started at the Sunshine Nursery in Kirkcaldy in March 2013, staff also noticed injuries and contacted authorities.
Liam Fee’s mom and her lesbian partner had reportedly been forced out of their home by angry neighbors months before they stood trial for the young child’s murder.
She said she had thought Liam, who was sitting in his buggy with a blanket over his head, looked “deathly”, adding: “I didn’t know if he was drugged or dead”.
The eight women and six men of the jury had spent about eight hours over two days considering their verdicts in the case at the High Court in Livingston.
As well as Liam’s murder, the couple were also found to have subjected two other boys to physical and psychological abuse.
The investigation into the near “malnourished” child’s case has been on hold due to the trial but will now go ahead.
They were also unanimously convicted of a catalogue of abuse towards the two boys, including imprisoning one in a home-made cage and tying another naked to a chair in a dark room with snakes and rats.
In June 2013 the nursery contacted social services with their concerns before an angry Fee withdrew Liam from the playschool.
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Rory Hamilton said outside court that while police had dealings with the pair in relation to previous convictions for minor offences, he was not aware of any issues after they had moved to Fife.
Nicola Sturgeon has told of her “shock, horror and revulsion” at the murder of toddler Liam Fee.
Giving evidence, 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.
They denied all charges against them, and had tried to shift the blame for the killing to another boy, who was of primary-school age.
Judge Lord Burns deferred sentence on the couple until 9.30am on July 6 at the High Court in Edinburgh in order to get background reports.
With that, they showed a “wicked indifference” to whether the “vulnerable and defenceless” Liam lived or died, the court heard.
It was not long before it became apparent that Liam’s death was no tragic accident but something far more sinister. Mr Prentice said: “It is impossible to express in words the sense of loss that he feels on the loss of Liam”.
When police originally found Liam, Rachel and Nyomi claimed that another child in their care had murdered him.
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During the trial of the death of Liam Fee, jurors heard testimony that the little boy (found dead at his home near Glenrothes in Fife) had suffered a broken leg and fractured arm.
