CHEEKY Rio Smedley was just two years old when he was killed by Daniel Rigby.

The little boy had been left alone at his home with Tyldesley man Rigby, who has a history of domestic violence.

When Rio's mother Kirsty Smedley left her home in Cheriton Drive, Breightmet to visit her mother,little did she know it would be the last time she would see her son alive.

But knowing Rigby was violent, as he had beaten her up so badly she had to be taken to hospital, meant she was aware the toddler was in danger – and it landed her in the dock facing criminal charges.

Rigby, who lived with his grandmother in Tyldesley from the age of seven, had been in trouble with the police when he was younger and had been given cautions for assault.

He also has a conviction for theft of a motor vehicle, which he pleaded guilty to when he was 17, and interfering with a motor vehicle.

Manchester Crown Court was told he also has a conviction for a public order offence.

There were warning signs of his violence when he assaulted Smedley a month before Rio’s death.

But police were unable to take action against him as Smedley withdrew her statement, there were no other witness statements and no pictures or evidence of her injuries.

Police said it was the only domestic violence incident involving the pair that they had been called to before to April 22 – the day Rio was killed.

In the 48 hours before his death, Rio had been acting unusually, but it will never be fully known what happened to him.

But one thing the jury was certain of was that Rigby inflicted those terrible injuries on the toddler, and that it was no accident.

Rigby and Smedley met in November last year and their relationship was described as “just sex”.

But things changed in the new year when Smedley revealed she was pregnant and he was the father of the baby.

The court heard Rigby was “over the moon” at the prospect of becoming a father and he and Smedley became a couple.

He was seeing another girl at the time, but they split up when Smedley fell pregnant and the pair tried to make a go of things.

There was a shock revelation during the trial, when Smedley told the jury that DNA results proved Rigby was not the father of her baby.

In March, when it was alleged Rigby assaulted Smedley, he was bailed and told not to have contact with her.

She kept trying to contact him, and Rigby felt so harassed by it he reported it to the police.

On Friday, April 20, Rigby went to the police station and his bail conditions were cancelled at 4pm. He went straight round to Smedley’s home. That night Rio was left alone with Rigby for an hour while Smedley went to the chip shop. Rio was sick that evening and overslept the next day, which was unusual.

The following day Rigby took Rio out and when he returned home the youngster had a large bruise on his bottom.

He went to his nanna’s in Tyldesley and his sister’s in Leigh. They both gave evidence and said Rio seemed “fine”.

Rigby had sent Smedley a text message and told her not to panic, and that Rio had been hit with a plastic sword by another child.

He also told her the toddler had fallen off a chair at his nanna’s and banged his head when a dog jumped up.

On the Sunday Rio slept in again. He also went into the garden but did not play.

Rigby, who had been smoking cannabis that day, was left in charge of Rio while Smedley went to her mother’s to do some washing and to get some money.

While she was out Rigby sent her a text message, asking her to call, which she did, and he told her to come home because Rio had fallen down the stairs.

She tried to borrow £2 from her mother so she could get a taxi, but she was unable to, so she rushed home on foot.

When she got in she called an ambulance and the jury heard the harrowing 999 call.

It is hard to imagine what the defenceless little boy could have done which made Rigby lose his temper.

Dr Naomi Carter, a pathologist, told the court the youngster had 91 injuries — and that they were not accidental.

He received a blow to the abdomen so heavy it caused his liver to split in half.

Rio also had bruises all over his body, which Dr Carter said could have been caused by punches.

It is a completely different picture to the one painted by some of the witnesses, who told the jury that Rigby is “fantastic” with children.

He is godfather to two youngsters, and evidence was heard that he often looked after them alone and they had never come to any harm.

Friends of Smedley spoke about Rio at the time of his death.

Caroline Murphy, aged 35, said at the time: “He was a lovely little boy, the apple of my eye. He was such a happy chappy. I loved him to bits and this is a real shame.

“Family and friends are absolutely devastated. The more I think about it, the more I cry.”