Parents who battered 13-week-old son to death have 'unduly lenient' jail sentences increased

The Court of Appeal has increased the prison sentences handed to two parents convicted of killing their three-month-old son after ruling them "unduly lenient".

Klevi Pirjani and Nivalda Pirjani were originally given minimum jail terms of 19 years and 15 years and three months respectively at Liverpool Crown Court earlier this year, after being convicted of murdering 13-week-old Miguel Pirjani following weeks of violence.

Miguel was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in November 2024 suffering severe head injuries and died five days later. Medical tests later revealed that the infant had suffered 41 individual bone fractures inflicted across at least four separate incidents of abuse.

The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves, challenged the sentences in April as "unduly lenient", with lawyers telling a Court of Appeal hearing on Tuesday that the original tariffs failed to "meet the justice of this terrible case".

Klevi Pirjani, 38, and Nivalda Pirjani, 35, opposed the application to lengthen their jail terms, maintaining that the original sentences were appropriate.

However, three appellate judges concluded at the end of the London hearing that the terms were "unduly lenient". They increased Klevi Pirjani’s minimum tariff to 21 years and six months, and Nivalda Pirjani’s minimum term to 17 years and nine months.

Lord Justice Jeremy Baker, sitting alongside Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Hilliard, said the couple subjected their son to escalating "routine" assaults resulting in his "particularly callous" murder.

He said: "We take the view that the resulting sentences significantly underestimated the aggravating factors, to the extent that not only do we consider that the minimum terms were unduly lenient, but that we should set them aside."

Bill Emlyn Jones KC, representing the Attorney General, submitted in written arguments that Miguel died after an assault on 24 November 2024 involving "a heavy blow, or series of blows, to the right side of his head".

Emergency services arrived within two minutes of a 999 call from the parents after Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest at their Percy Road home in Seacombe, Merseyside. However, the baby never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead five days later.

Mr Emlyn Jones stated that during Miguel's hospitalisation, a "wider picture of long-standing physical abuse emerged", including findings of multiple broken ribs, fractured legs and a fractured sternum caused during several previous violent incidents before the fatal attack.

He added that while it was unclear which parent carried out the fatal blow, "whichever it was, they did so with the encouragement of their partner".

During the original sentencing in March, Mr Justice Andrew Baker ruled that the pair were "in this together, encouraging each other" to assault their "defenceless" child.

He remarked that the identity of who "fatally battered" the baby "remains the guilty secret of a warped relationship, in which you came first for each other to an unnatural degree".

Mr Emlyn Jones argued in court that the original sentences "simply do not reflect the vulnerability of the victim and the gross breach of trust this murder constituted".

He added that while the trial judge chose the correct starting point, the murder "was so serious that a significant upward adjustment was required from that starting point in order to meet the justice of the case and reflect the very substantial aggravating features".

Rupert Bowers KC, representing Nivalda Pirjani, accepted in court that her sentence was "of course" lenient, but argued that the trial judge had "considered all of the factors".

He said: "There is nothing that would indicate that the sentences he passed are beyond the ambit of reasonableness, or an error of principle, so that this court should interfere with his exercise of discretion, having heard all the evidence."

Sarah Vine KC, for Klevi Pirjani, also argued her client’s punishment was "undoubtedly lenient, but not unduly, and leniency in itself is not a vice".

Klevi and Nivalda Pirjani, watching via video link from HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire and HMP Styal in Cheshire, remained emotionless as their sentences were lengthened.

Following the ruling, Ms Reeves said: "Miguel Pirjani was a defenceless baby who had an entire life to live, yet he suffered appallingly cruel violence at the hands of the two people who should have protected him.

"This was a truly harrowing case, and my thoughts are with everyone who loved and cared for him.

"I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase both minimum terms following my referral and remain committed to ensuring those who carry out the most serious crimes face the full force of the law."