Wirral Baby Murder: Parents’ Jail Terms Increased by Court 2026

Key Points

• The Court of Appeal has raised the minimum prison sentences of Klevi Pirjani and Nivalda Santos Pirjani, who murdered their 13-week-old son, Miguel Pirjani.
• Klevi Pirjani’s minimum sentence has been increased from 19 years to 21 years and six months; Nivalda Santos Pirjani’s minimum sentence has been raised from 15 years and three months to 17 years and nine months.
• Both sentences have been raised by two and a half years following the referral of the sentences under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme made by Attorney General Ellie Reeves KC MP.
• The court heard Miguel sustained 41 fractures, including damage to his ribs, legs, arm, collarbone and spine, during the assaults in multiple sessions.
• Miguel was killed at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital on 29 November 2024, five days after paramedics were sent to the couple’s home in Seacombe, Wallasey.
• Lord Justice Jeremy Baker, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Hilliard, concluded that the original sentences greatly underestimated the aggravating factors and therefore were unduly lenient.
• The parents were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 23 March 2026 for the crimes of murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Liverpool (Liverpool standard) October 27, 2026 — The Court of Appeal has increased the life-sentence minimum terms of a Wirral couple convicted of murdering their 13-week-old son, after ruling that the sentences originally imposed at Liverpool Crown Court were “unduly lenient”.

Klevi Pirjani, 38, and Nivalda Santos Pirjani, 35, of Percy Road, Seacombe, were jailed for life in March 2026 for the murder of their son, Miguel Pirjani. As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Klevi Pirjani had received a minimum term of 19 years, while Nivalda Santos Pirjani had been given a minimum term of 15 years and three months.

On Tuesday 27 October, the Court of Appeal increased Klevi Pirjani’s minimum term to 21 years and six months and Nivalda Santos Pirjani’s to 17 years and nine months. The increase means each parent will serve an additional two and a half years before becoming eligible to be considered for release.

Why did the Court of Appeal increase the sentences?

The increase followed a referral by Attorney General Ellie Reeves KC MP under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, which allows the Court of Appeal to review and potentially increase a sentence considered too low because of an error by the sentencing judge.

According to the UK Government, the Attorney General referred both minimum terms after concluding that the original sentences did not adequately reflect the seriousness of the case. The Court of Appeal agreed, finding that the sentencing judge had significantly underestimated the aggravating factors.

As reported by the BBC, Lord Justice Jeremy Baker, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Hilliard, said the couple subjected their son to “routine” violence that escalated in intensity and culminated in his “particularly cruel” murder.

In remarks quoted by the BBC, Lord Justice Baker said:

“We believe that the sentences handed down significantly downplayed the aggravating circumstances, leading us to conclude that the minimum terms were excessively lenient and should be overturned.”

What happened to Miguel Pirjani?

The court heard that Miguel spent the first month of his life in hospital before being discharged into his parents’ care. Within days of returning home, he was assaulted for the first time and suffered two fractured ribs; the abuse then continued and escalated over the following weeks.

On 24 November 2024, when Miguel was 13 weeks old, his parents subjected him to a fatal assault involving a heavy blow or a series of blows to the right side of his head. Paramedics restarted his heart, but he never regained consciousness and died at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital five days later, on 29 November 2024.

Medical examinations found that Miguel had suffered 41 fractures in total, including injuries to his ribs, legs, arm, collarbone and spine. The UK Government said the injuries were inflicted during repeated assaults over several weeks.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, William Emlyn Jones KC, appearing for the Attorney General, told the court that a post-mortem examination identified a longstanding history of abuse, including 41 separate bone fractures involving the ribs, legs and sternum across multiple incidents.

What did the prosecution argue?

Mr Emlyn Jones said that, although it could not be established which parent inflicted the fatal violence, “whichever it was, they did so with the encouragement of their partner”.

According to the Liverpool Echo, he told the court: “This is a case in which it is common ground that the starting point was 15 years. However, it is submitted that the nature of the murder and the victim of the murder makes this so serious that a significant upward adjustment was required from the starting point to reflect the significant aggravating features.”

The Attorney General’s Office said the original sentences “simply do not reflect the vulnerability of the victim and the gross breach of trust this murder constituted”.

What did the parents’ lawyers say?

Rupert Bowers KC, representing Nivalda Santos Pirjani, and Sarah Vine KC, representing Klevi Pirjani, both argued that the original sentences were lenient but not unduly so.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Mr Bowers 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.”

The Court of Appeal rejected that position and set aside the original minimum terms before imposing higher ones.

What were the original convictions and sentences?

At Liverpool Crown Court on 23 March 2026, Nivalda Santos Pirjani was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 15 years and three months for murder. She was also sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment, to run concurrently, for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Klevi Pirjani was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years for murder. He also received a concurrent sentence of six years and six months for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the jury found both parents guilty of all three offences on 29 October 2025, following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

What did the sentencing judge say?

At the original sentencing hearing, Mr Justice Andrew Baker said the parents were “in this together, encouraging each other” to attack their “defenceless” son.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, he said that the person who “fatally battered” Miguel “remains the guilty secret of a warped relationship, in which you came first for each other to an unnatural degree”.

The Court of Appeal found that Mr Justice Baker had erred in his initial sentencing approach, although the appellate judges did not dispute the seriousness of the offending itself.

What did the Attorney General say?

Attorney General Ellie Reeves KC MP welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision. In a statement issued by the UK Government, she said Miguel was “a defenceless baby who had an entire life to live”, yet suffered “appallingly cruel violence” at the hands of the two people who should have protected him.

She added:

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

Ms Reeves said she remained committed to ensuring that those who carry out the most serious crimes face “the full force of the law”.

What did Merseyside Police say?

Merseyside Police received a report that three-month-old Miguel was unresponsive at the family home after Klevi Pirjani made a 999 call. Miguel was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where he died five days later.

Detective Inspector Holly Chance, the senior investigating officer, said: “Baby Miguel’s life was cruelly cut short at the hands of his parents who were meant to nurture and protect him from harm.”

Background of the development

Miguel Pirjani was born in 2024 and spent his first month in hospital before being discharged into his parents’ care. The Court of Appeal heard that abuse began within days of his return home and continued over several weeks, resulting in 41 fractures before the fatal assault on 24 November 2024.

Both parents initially blamed each other for Miguel’s injuries and death. However, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court convicted them of murder, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and, in Klevi Pirjani’s case, causing or allowing the death of a child; Nivalda Santos Pirjani had pleaded guilty to that final offence during the trial.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme allows the Attorney General to ask the Court of Appeal to review certain sentences within 28 days of sentencing. In this case, the referral led to both minimum terms being raised by two and a half years.

Prediction: How this may affect Wirral residents

For families and residents in Wirral, the ruling is likely to reinforce confidence that serious child-protection cases can be reviewed at senior court level when initial sentences are considered insufficient. The decision also demonstrates that the Attorney General’s Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme can result in materially longer minimum terms for parents convicted of killing a child.

For professionals working in safeguarding, health and social care, the case may add to existing scrutiny around how repeated injuries in very young children are identified, reported and investigated. The court’s findings that Miguel suffered 41 fractures over several weeks underline the importance of early intervention where there are signs of non-accidental injury.

For the wider public, the increased sentences may affect expectations of how courts weigh the vulnerability of a child victim, a gross breach of parental trust and a pattern of escalating violence when setting minimum terms for murder. The case is also likely to remain a significant local reference point in discussions about child protection and the criminal justice response to fatal child abuse.