Justice Amanda Tipples, who sentenced them, said: “You both knew that Finley was very ill and dying… rescued him and took him out of your care.
“He was repeatedly abused several times… Finley’s daily experience was one of great pain, fear and suffering.
“On December 16th it was clear to both of you that Finley was very badly injured and he was utterly miserable.
“He could no longer sit up and play with his toys. He couldn’t feed himself.”
She added: “By the evening of December 23, he was clearly dying. There was nothing subtle about this at all. It was clear to both of you.”
No emotion
The pair showed no emotion and remained silent during the sentencing, as relatives wept in the public gallery.
Among the “savage” injuries inflicted on the child was a broken pelvis, possibly from sustained “kicking or stomping”, with injuries akin to a multi-storey fall.
He also had two burns on his left hand, one “from a hot, flat surface”, the other probably “from the flame of a cigarette lighter”. As their son’s condition worsened, Boden, 30, and Marsden, 22, hid him from social workers and relatives for the last month of his life, despite making several attempts to see him.
Boden, who has 22 previous convictions, texted a cannabis dealer two days before his son died, stating he wanted to “bounce off the walls (Finley).
