Killer who tormented Ryan Lovell-Hancox to appeal

The killer of a three-year-old boy systematically beaten to death in a Bilston bedsit is appealing against his conviction, it was revealed this afternoon.

Christopher Taylor, aged 26, was jailed for at least 15 years in July for the murder of Ryan Lovell-Hancox.

Taylor's ex-girlfriend Kayley Boleyn, 19, was jailed for a minimum of 13 years for her role in the boy's murder.

The appeal will delay the publication of a serious case review of the tragedy.

The inquiry is expected to highlight a lack of communication between social workers employed by Wolverhampton City Council and probation officers.

Ryan was taken unconscious to New Cross Hospital from the couple's flat in Slim Avenue on December 22, 2008. He was suffering from a brain haemorrhage that led to a fatal cardiac arrest on Christmas Eve. He had more than 70 injuries.

Ryan's mother Amy Hancox, 21, had given him to her cousin Boleyn to care for because she was struggling to cope. Boleyn and Taylor beat, slapped and shouted at the child so loudly he wet himself.

He was also made to lick soup from the floor and shut in a "naughty" cupboard.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Taylor will challenge his conviction in London's Court of Appeal on January 14.