Liam Fee killers to appeal convictions
The two women convicted of murdering two-year-old Liam Fee have launched an appeal.
The boy's mother Rachel, 31, and her civil partner Nyomi, 29, have lodged papers at the High Court in Edinburgh.
This is the first stage in the legal process before an appeal can be considered.
Earlier this month, the pair were sentenced to life imprisonment for the toddler's murder and abuse of two other boys in their care.
The reasons for their appeal must be handed to the court by early September after which a judge will decide if they should go ahead.
Rachel Fee, must spend a minimum of 23-and-a-half years in jail and Nyomi Fee, a minimum of 24 years for the murder and ill-treatment of Liam Fee.
The toddler died at his home near Glenrothes, Fife, in March 2014.
He had suffered a ruptured heart as a result of severe blunt force trauma to his body.
The couple, originally from Ryton in Tyne and Wear, denied killing Liam, and instead blamed his death on one of two other young boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons.