Mum who poisoned five-year-old son after bitter break up with ex is jailed for all times

A terminally in poor health mum who murdered her five-year-old son with anti-depressants in an obvious double suicide try has been jailed for 18 years.

Claire Scanlon, 38, was handed the minimal time period life sentence for killing Dylan Scanlon, whose badly bruised physique was discovered on her mattress.

Prosecutors informed the court docket the mum had first knowledgeable her uncle in a close-by property that her son was “not breathing” or “moving” at 6.15pm on December 31, 2021.

And sadly, “cheeky, adventurous” Dylan was pronounced lifeless three minutes after paramedics arrived on the home, in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Pathologists discovered the lad had 64 separate accidents and a considerable amount of an antidepressant drug in his system, which consultants claimed may have been deadly.

Scanlon had informed paramedics that Dylan fell from the ladder to her attic the day earlier than they arrived, and she or he had checked on him each quarter-hour earlier than his dying.

But after police arrested her, they discovered a notice saying: “Don’t let them see us, just cremate us,” which prosecutors mentioned confirmed she’d deliberate to die alongside him.

Manchester Minshull Court additionally heard that Scanlon had inherited Huntington’s illness from her mom, which she had known as a “death sentence”.

And whereas Judge Mrs Justice Yip informed Scanlon – who refused to attend the court docket – this may increasingly have affected her behaviour, she mentioned it was no excuse for murdering her son.

Speaking at yesterday’s sentence, Mrs Justice Yip mentioned: “You went from being a good mother who loved Dylan very much to murdering him.

“I’m positive that you just gave Dylan a really massive dose of your antidepressants, intending that he ought to die. You additionally damage him, inflicting plenty of nasty bruising to his face and head via a number of blows.

“The note found in your bedroom suggests you planned to die too.

“It will need to have been horrifying and upsetting if you began to get signs and realised you had it – you described Huntington’s as a dying sentence.

“But as the jury found in their verdict, it does not explain or excuse killing Dylan.

“Because of your Huntington’s illness, it’s possible you’ll not have an extended life. It could also be that you just spend the remainder of your life in jail or a safe hospital.”

Dylan’s stepbrother Shaun Scanlon spoke directly to his mother during his emotional victim impact statement.

He said: “I do love you since you are my mum, however I do not need you to harm anybody else once more, and I do not need you to break or upset the household any extra.

“We all need to live in peace and never experience the feelings we’ve had to in the last 19 months ever again.

“You know Dylan won’t ever have the possibility to go on vacation, to have a profession or to review, to have a household or to have challenges in life.

“And you will never know the man that he would have become – that was taken away from him by you.”

Prosecutor Lisa Wilding had informed the court docket Scanlon turned “angry and depressed” on the breakdown of her relationship with Dylan’s dad, Gary Keenan, earlier than the homicide.

The couple first met in 2005 and had moved in collectively, however Gary had left their dwelling for good following a “bitter” break up in 2020, 4 years after the start of Dylan.

She mentioned the mum was “obsessed” with Gary, and within the two months previous to her son’s dying, she’d despatched voicemails and messages to him a number of instances a day.

On December 15, 2021, she left him a voicemail message that mentioned: “I promise you, you won’t see him again. You’ll see. Bye. Go and enjoy your life”.

Then on December 27, she left a message saying: “I promise you now, carry on treating me like a k**b h**d, I promise you’re never gonna see my son again”

She added: “Treat me like a d**k, I’ll stop you from going near him”.

A number of days afterward December 30, she despatched a remaining message that mentioned: “You’re just showing all you want to do is act like me and Dyl weren’t in your life and crack on, make a new life with your new bird.

“So you go and try this. I’ll resolve it for you. Go and luxuriate in your new life along with her.”

Ms Wilding told the court that Scanlon had picked up a repeat prescription for Mirtazapine, an antidepressant, 11 days before Dylan died.

And a blood sample found Dylan had 9,951 micrograms of the drug, per litre of blood in his system.

Christopher Madden, a forensic toxicologist, who analysed samples of blood said this amount would be consistent with other fatalities from mirtazapine.

Mr Madden told the jury that the deaths of eight adults who overdosed on mirtazapine found they had 1,000 to 4,400 micrograms per litre of blood.

But he could not tell how Dylan had ingested the mirtazapine and if it was taken in one single go or administered across multiple occasions.

Scanlon’s sister Susan told the court that she had become more reclusive following her break up with her ex-partner.

And during her emotional testimony, she was unable to explain what had led to the death of Dylan, who she said was at the centre of Scanlon’s world.

She said: “She was his life, and he was hers. I do not know what went improper.

“She wouldn’t answer her phone. She wouldn’t answer the door.

Describing her sister’s behaviour in the month before Dylan’s death, Susan added: “She shut herself off to everyone. Absolutely everyone.”

Scanlon was detained under the mental health act and taken to Edenfield Hospital in Prestwich following her arrest.

And it was there that support worker Joshua Davidson claims Scanlon had confessed to inflicting fatal injuries on Dylan by dropping him from her attic.

He previously told the court Scanlon said to him: “I killed my son”.

Following Claire Scanlon’s sentencing for murder, Dylan’s heartbroken dad Gary Keenan, who also provided a victim impact statement to the court, said his son would be missed “each minute of daily”.

He said: “I wish to thank all my household and pals for the love and assist they’ve supplied, throughout what can solely be described because the worst time in our lives.

“Dylan was cruelly taken away from us on New Years Eve in 2021 by the one person who was supposed to love and protect him.

“He will probably be missed each minute of daily, and we can not put into phrases how tough it has been to endure the trial and to take heed to how Dylan got here to his dying.

“We would like to thank Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, who have been so supportive and guided us through the investigation and trial.”

Senior Investigating Officer Phil Reade, from Greater Manchester Police, added that he hoped the tip of the trial had introduced Dylan’s household a “step closer” to getting closure.

He added: “Our thoughts remain with those who knew and loved Dylan – particularly his dad and brother.

“We perceive the conclusion of legal proceedings won’t heal their damaged hearts however we do hope that this brings them a step nearer to closure and provides them a way of reduction.”