Evil mum who murdered son, 5, with anti-depressants is jailed for life

A sick and evil mum murdered her five-year-old son by poisoning him with anti-depressants.

Claire Scanlon has been jailed for life – with a minimum term of 18 years – for the murder of Dylan Scanlon.

The depraved 38-year-old mother first called her uncle who lived nearby to claim the boy was “not breathing or moving”.

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Neighbours and family attempted to resuscitate the boy but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Emergency services arrived at the home in Limeside, Oldham, on New Year’s Eve in 2021 and found Dylan’s body lifeless and heavily bruised lying on a double bed, reports MEN.

Investigators later confirmed the young boy had a total of 64 bruises on his head, face and body.

A toxicology report states he had nine times the fatal adult dose of an anti-depressant in his system.

Scanlon had told paramedics Dylan fell from the ladder to her attic the day before they arrived, and she had checked on him every 15 minutes before his death.

She also reported he had been “running around with the dog” 20 minutes before he fell unconscious.

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But after police arrested her, they found a note saying: "Don't let them see us, just cremate us.”

She was later hospitalised under the Mental Health Act, during which she admitted to staff members at Edenfield Hospital: "I killed my son."

A police investigation revealed a large number of 'angry' voicemails to her ex-partner Gary Keenan, in which she said he left her for another woman while she struggled to live “emotionally, practically and financially” as a single mum.

Prosecutors said Scanlon was “very angry and depressed” over the breakdown of her relationship with Gary Keenan, Dylan’s father.

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In one voicemail, she said: "I promise you, you won't see him again. You'll see. Bye. Go and enjoy your life."

Following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court, Scanlon was found guilty of murder. Members of Dylan's devastated family were in the public gallery on Friday (June 14), but Scanlon refused to attend.

During the trial, giving evidence, Scanlon, of Elm Road, said she didn't remember giving him tablets. She denied ever harming her son but jurors rejected her account.

Justice Amanda Yip said: "Dylan was five when he died. He was an active, happy little boy. He had just started primary school and his teachers spoke warmly of him.

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“You are the only person who knows exactly what happened, but you have not told the truth. I am sure you gave Dylan a large overdose of your anti-depressants intending that he should die.

"You decided to take him away from everyone who loved him. That was a selfish decision to hurt those you were angry with. There was no suggestion you ever hurt Dylan before.

"He was a young boy who depended on you completely, you abused the trust placed in you as his mother and primary carer. I am sure your intention was to kill."

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