Baby murder parents have sentences increased to minimum of 21½ and 17¾ years

Two parents who murdered their 13-week-old son have had their sentences increased by the Court of Appeal, after senior judges ruled the original minimum terms “unduly lenient”. Klevi Pirjani, 38, will now serve at least 21 years and six months, and Nivalda Pirjani, 35, at least 17 years and nine months.

How the sentences increased on appeal

The couple, from Seacombe on the Wirral, were jailed for life at Liverpool Crown Court in March. Klevi Pirjani received a minimum term of 19 years. Nivalda Pirjani’s was reported as 15 years by the BBC and the Daily Record, and as 15 years and three months by The Independent. The Independent’s figure fits the new term, which is an increase of two years and six months for each parent.

Attorney General Ellie Reeves referred the cases to the Court of Appeal. At a hearing in London on Tuesday, barristers for the government argued the original terms did not “meet the justice of this terrible case”. Bill Emlyn Jones KC said the trial judge had chosen the right starting point, but that the murder was so serious that a significant upward adjustment was needed to reflect “very substantial aggravating features”.

What the court heard about the baby’s death

Lord Justice Jeremy Baker, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Hilliard, said the couple subjected their son to “routine” assaults that grew more severe and ended in a “particularly callous” murder. The judges went further than finding the terms lenient. They said the original sentences “significantly underestimated the aggravating factors” and that they should be set aside altogether.

The baby was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in November 2024 with severe head injuries after a 999 call from the family home in Percy Road. Paramedics arrived within two minutes, but he never regained consciousness and died five days later. The court heard he had suffered 41 bone fractures across at least four separate incidents. These included fractured ribs, legs and sternum, which Mr Emlyn Jones said showed “long-standing physical abuse” that emerged while the baby was in hospital.

It has never been established which parent inflicted the fatal blow or blows to the right side of the baby’s head. Mr Emlyn Jones told the court that “whichever it was, they did so with the encouragement of their partner”. Sentencing them in March, Mr Justice Andrew Baker said the pair were “in this together, encouraging each other”, and described who had “fatally battered” the child as “the guilty secret of a warped relationship”.

Defence arguments rejected

Both parents opposed the application. Rupert Bowers KC, for Nivalda Pirjani, accepted her sentence was “of course” lenient, but said nothing suggested the trial judge had erred in principle. Sarah Vine KC, for Klevi Pirjani, called his term “undoubtedly lenient, but not unduly”, adding that “leniency in itself is not a vice”. The appeal judges disagreed. The couple watched by video link from HMP Wakefield and HMP Styal and showed no visible reaction as the sentences increased.

The case reflects the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, which lets the Attorney General ask the Court of Appeal to review sentences in serious cases. Here the judges did not merely nudge the terms upward but ruled the original minimums should be replaced.

Detective Chief Inspector Holly Chance of Merseyside Police said the force “remains committed to protecting children and bringing offenders before the courts”. She urged anyone with concerns to come forward, saying specially trained officers would “treat you with sensitivity and compassion”.

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