Here on Stolen Lives, we discuss brutal and heartbreaking crimes against children.

Themes may include child murder, torture, and sexual domestic and child abuse.

I do try my best to remain respectful for the babies in these stories,

and leave out unnecessary details that honestly,

none of us need to know to understand the frustration of why and how this ever happened.

However, if you find any of these themes triggering, this podcast may not be for you.

Listen, our discretion is advised.

This week's story will be a short but oh so important one.

It is an example what a person can achieve in the face of tragedy.

Mason Parker's life was as short as it was tragic.

At just 16 months old, he was beaten to death in his own home by his mother's boyfriend of only a few months.

This was a cruel and cowardly crime made even worse that warning signs the toddler was being abused were ignored.

Days before Mason was killed, staff at his childcare centre noticed suspicious bruising covering his body.

They discussed it with his mother.

But indisputably, neither took further action that could have saved this little boy's life.

This is Mason's story.

Mason John Parker was born in December 2009. To mother Cindy Sanderman in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Cindy was a busy single mother.

She was working and studying, but extremely close to her parents, Sue and John Sandeman,

grandparents who are more than happy to step in whenever Cindy needed help with their grandson.

This all changed, though, in November 2010, when Cindy met boyfriend Troy William Reid online.

Within two months of their meeting, Reid moved in with Cindy and her 13-month-old son, Mason.

...