Tamica Mullaley will always wonder what kind of adult her son could have grown up to be.
She will never know because her de facto partner tortured her 10-month-old baby to death.
Mervyn Kenneth Douglas Bell was sentenced on Friday to life behind bars with a minimum of 27 years after he was convicted by a judge in the WA Supreme Court of sexually assaulting and murdering Charles "Charlie Boy" Mullaley.
Bell may never be freed.
Over 15 hours, Bell inflicted broken bones, burns and bruises on the boy, with Justice John McKechnie describing it as one of the most evil cases he had encountered.
"Once in every 10 years, there comes a crime so evil that it shocks the public," he said.
Bell, 27, wanted payback for being humiliated by Charlie's mother, so he took Charlie from Broome in March last year and drove almost 1000 kilometres on a very hot day.
He eventually took the injured boy to the Fortescue Roadhouse near Karratha - but he could not be saved.
In her victim impact statement, Ms Mullaley said she felt powerless when she learned what had happened to her son.
"I felt sick. How could someone do this to a child?" she said.
"My son would have been petrified."
Ms Mullaley cried as the statement, which described her son as a happy boy who was always smiling, was read out.
"This will forever be a lifetime sentence for me," she said.
"I feel a sense of loss and I just do not know what to do."
Ms Mullaley said, instead of watching Charlie grow up, she had to visit his grave on his birthday.
Charlie's grandfather said in his statement that he felt guilty for not babysitting that night.
He said when he learned Charlie was dead, he felt shocked and numb, adding that it still tore his heart apart.
Justice McKechnie said Charlie must have been in terrible pain in his final hours.
"The fact that you did not intend death counts for little," he told Bell.
Justice McKechnie also noted that Bell had a traumatic childhood with a violent stepfather.
He had considered imposing an indefinite jail term on Bell but decided it would be inappropriate and the prosecution did not push for it.
"You may never be released, but it will be for the next generation to decide whether it is safe for you to re-enter their society," Justice McKechnie said.
Ms Mullaley was hospitalised after Bell attacked her before he fled Broome, and she still faces charges over an assault on police that night.
She has demanded to know why police did not search for Charlie immediately.
Police are conducting an internal investigation.
Outside court, Ms Mullaley said she was satisfied with the sentence and would continue to try to be strong for the sake of her other children.
"We're really happy with the sentencing: it's still not going to bring Charlie back, but it's really good he may never be released," she said.
Bell's earliest release date is in 2040.
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