Mum murdered son Dylan Scanlon, 5, by poisoning him with antidepressants after lying he hurt himself ‘playing with dog’
A MUM has been found guilty of murdering her five-year-old son after poisoning him with anti-depressants.
Dylan Scanlon was found unconscious after emergency services rushed to his home in Limeside, Oldham, on New Year's Eve 2021.
Neighbours and family members attempted to resuscitate him, but he was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
He was found with more than 60 bruises to his head, face and body, with a toxicology report also concluding he had nine times the fatal limit of anti-depressants in his system.
His mother Claire Scanlon, 38, claimed he had fallen down stepladders and had been "running around with the dog" just 20 minutes before reporting him unresponsive.
But she was today found guilty of murder following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester.
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A police investigation launched following Dylan's death revealed a large number of "angry" voicemails to her ex-partner Gary Keenan.
In the messages, she said he had left her for another woman while she struggled to live "emotionally, practically and financially" as a single mum.
Scanlon was "very angry and depressed" following the breakdown of the relationship and, in one voicemail, she told her ex-partner: "I promise you, you won't see him again. You'll see. Bye. Go and enjoy your life."
Lisa Wilding KC, prosecuting, earlier told jurors that Scanlon had met Mr Keenan in 2005, and that she had a son from a previous relationship, Shawn Scanlon, who Mr Keenan took on as his own.
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Dylan was born in October 2016, but Scanlon and Mr Keenan's relationship broke down in 2020 and he moved out.
Ms Wilding told the court: "She is described by her family as being bitter about the break up and obsessed with Gary.
"The number of messages she left for Gary and the content of them strongly support that description."
Shawn Scanlon, now an adult, was still living at home until he moved in with his girlfriend in 2021 - just two months before Dylan died.
The day before Dylan's fifth birthday - on September 31 - Ms Scanlon allowed Mr Keenan to visit. That is said to be the last time he saw his son alive.
Ms Scanlon had a history of depression and anxiety, for which she was prescribed mirtazapine.
But she told Shawn she had stopped taking it four to five months before Dylan's death.
On December 20, 2021, she picked up a repeat prescription.
However, in the run-up to Christmas, she became more isolated and in the week before, she sent a number of voicemails to Mr Keenan saying she was struggling to cope looking after Dylan on her own.
She refused to allow Mr Keenan to see Dylan, though, and visibly lost weight.
One of her messages read: "I promise you now, carry on treating me like a k**bhead, I promise you're never gonna see my son again."
Ms Scanlon received two letters from solicitors acting for Mr Keenan, arranging for him to have access to Dylan, making her feel angry and upset.
Dylan was last seen alive by a neighbour the day before, and last heard by his next-door neighbour, who could hear a murmur of voices at around 2am on December 31.
The neighbour thought Dylan had woken and Scanlon was settling him back down.
But at 6.13pm that day, she called Mr Keenan saying Dylan was unresponsive and ran to her uncle's house across the road for help.
Neighbours attempted to give CPR to Dylan, who appeared "lifeless".
Some of them noticed bruises on his face and head, to which Scanlon attempted to explain he had fallen off a stepladder the day before.
But Scanlon was arrested at the scene and later sectioned under the Mental Health Act and transferred to Edenfield Hospital.
Officers searched the house and found a number of empty boxes of mirtazapine in the bin; a handwritten note; and a black bin bag full of baby photos of Dylan.
Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson said the bruises found on Dylan's body were sustained within approximately a day of his death.
However, "the injuries that could be seen that Dylan sustained did not kill him", Ms Wilding said.
"Dylan died from mirtazapine toxicity – he was poisoned by the drug."
A toxicology report found that Dylan had up to 9,951 milligrams of the drug in a litre of blood - nine times the fatal limit in adults.
When she was deemed fit to be interviewed by the police, Ms Scanlon gave a prepared statement denying responsibility for her son's injuries and his death.
She later called Mr Keenan and told him: "This is all your f****** fault."
But jurors today rejected her account and found her guilty of murder.
Scanlon, of Elm Road, will be sentenced at a later date.
Following the verdict, CPS senior crown prosecutor for the North West Nicola Carter said: "Claire Scanlon's role as a parent was to love and protect her son from harm, but she took the ultimate step to take her young son Dylan away from her ex-partner.
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"She initially told her family that a ladder had fallen on Dylan, then a short time later she told a paramedic that he had fallen down some steps. The truth was that she had deliberately poisoned and beaten him.
"I would like to offer my sincere sympathies to Dylan's loved ones including his grandfather, father and brother who gave evidence at the trial. They not only have to come to terms with his loss, but also the manner in which he died."
