Claire Scanlon, 38, killed her son Dylan at their residence in Oldham, Better Manchester, on New 12 months’s Eve in 2021 (Footage: Better Manchester Police/SWNS/MEN)
A ‘egocentric’ mum who murdered her five-year-old son by poisoning him with anti-depressants to ‘take him away’ from her ex has been jailed for all times.
Claire Scanlon, 38, killed her son Dylan at their residence in Oldham, Better Manchester, on New 12 months’s Eve in 2021.
He was discovered with 64 bruises to his head, face and physique, whereas a toxicology report revealed he had 9 occasions the deadly dose of the medicine in his system.
Scanlon claimed Dylan had fallen from the ladder to the attic and had been taking part in with the canine shortly earlier than discovering him unresponsive.
However she instructed workers on the Edenfield Hospital after being arrested and sectioned: ‘I killed my son.’
The courtroom heard Scanlon had been left feeling ‘very indignant and depressed’ following the ‘bitter’ breakdown of her relationship along with her ex-partner and Dylan’s dad in 2020.
She left a string of ranting voicemails within the weeks earlier than the killing, saying he had left her for one more girl whereas she struggled to dwell ‘emotionally, virtually and financially’ as a single mum.
On December 15, she warned: ‘I promise you, you received’t see him once more. You’ll see. Bye. Go and luxuriate in your life.’
And in a last message left on December 30, she mentioned: ‘You’re simply exhibiting all you need to do is act like me and Dyl weren’t in your life and crack on, make a brand new life together with your new chicken.
‘So that you go and try this. I’ll resolve it for you. Go and luxuriate in your new life along with her.’
Claire Scanlon was jailed for all times (Image: Better Manchester Police/SWNS)
A toxicology report concluded Dylan had 9 occasions the deadly restrict of anti-depressants in his system (Image: MEN Media)
Scanlon was discovered responsible of homicide following a trial at Manchester’s Minshull Road Crown Court docket.
She refused to return to the dock to listen to Mrs Justice Yip give her a life sentence with a minimal time period of 18 years.
The choose instructed her: ‘Dylan was 5 when he died. He was an energetic, completely happy little boy. He had simply began major college and his lecturers spoke warmly of him.
‘He was very a lot cherished. This can be a very unhappy case. You went from being a very good mom who cherished Dylan very a lot to murdering him.
‘You’re the solely one who is aware of precisely what occurred, however you haven’t instructed the reality.
‘I’m positive you gave Dylan a big overdose of your anti-depressants intending that he ought to die. There are unanswered questions on what you probably did.
‘You determined to take him away from everybody who cherished him. That was a egocentric resolution to harm these you had been indignant with. There was no suggestion you ever harm Dylan earlier than.
‘He was a younger boy who relied on you utterly, you abused the belief positioned in you as his mom and first carer. I’m positive your intention was to kill.’
The courtroom heard Scanlon had inherited Huntington’s illness from her mom, calling the prognosis a ‘dying sentence’.
Following her arrest police discovered a notice saying ‘don’t allow them to see us, simply cremate us’, which prosecutors urged confirmed she had deliberate to die with him.
Whereas the choose mentioned this may increasingly have affected Scanlon’s behaviour, she mentioned it was no excuse for murdering her son.
She mentioned: ‘It will need to have been horrifying and upsetting once you began to get signs and realised you had it – you described Huntington’s as a dying sentence.
‘However because the jury discovered of their verdict, it doesn’t clarify or excuse killing Dylan.
‘Due to your Huntington’s illness, chances are you’ll not have an extended life. It might be that you just spend the remainder of your life in jail or a safe hospital.’
Dylan together with his brother (Image: Better Manchester Police/SWNS)
Dylan’s dad, Gary Keenan, learn a transferring sufferer influence assertion, revealing his grief at by no means having the ability to see his son once more.
He mentioned: ‘Christmas was certainly one of Dylan’s favorite occasions of the yr.
‘He cherished the lights, the sparkles and the presents. I had so many presents to provide him, however his mum mentioned I wasn’t allowed to see him.
‘So, they had been nonetheless at my residence within the hope I may give them to him after I noticed him subsequent – however that by no means occurred.’
He added: ‘There’ll all the time be an enormous gap in our hearts on the lack of Dylan, and we miss him daily.’
Following the case, Nicola Carter, senior crown prosecutor for North West CPS mentioned: ‘Claire Scanlon’s function as a guardian was to like and defend her son from hurt, however she took the last word step to take her younger son Dylan away from her ex-partner.
‘She initially instructed her household {that a} ladder had fallen on Dylan, then a short while later she instructed a paramedic that he had fallen down some steps. The reality was that she had intentionally poisoned and crushed him.
‘I want to supply my honest sympathies to Dylan’s family members together with his grandfather, father and brother who gave proof on the trial. They not solely have to come back to phrases together with his loss, but in addition the style wherein he died.’
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