Hospital order for dad who threw baby son into River Irwell
Zak Bennett-Eko's 11-month-old son died following the incident in September 2019.
Last updated 1st Dec 2020
A father who threw his baby son into a river "slipped through the net'' of mental health services, a judge has said as he sentenced him to a hospital order.
Zak Bennett-Eko, 23, was given the hospital order, which he may never be well enough to be released from, on Tuesday after being found guilty of the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of his son Zakari following a six-day trial.
He said he believed the 11-month-old was turning into the devil when he threw him into the River Irwell in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, in the afternoon of September 11 last year.
Psychiatrist Dr John Crosby told the hearing Bennett-Eko, a paranoid schizophrenic, should "never have been discharged'' from community mental health care services in the years before his son's death.
Sentencing him at the Nightingale Court at The Lowry theatre in Salford, judge Mr Justice Fraser said: "It is not the only failure of the system in your case.
"You seem to have slipped through the net in terms of care for your mental illness, which in hindsight was much more serious than was realised at the time.''
The judge said he "unhesitatingly'' concluded that Bennett-Eko was dangerous.
He made a hospital order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act, with restrictions under section 41 of the act meaning the question of whether Bennett-Eko was ever released would be a matter for the Secretary of State.
He added: "In your case, and this is accepted by your treating clinicians, there is the prospect that you may never be well enough to be released.''
The court heard Bennett-Eko, who was too unwell to appear for the trial or the sentencing, was previously diagnosed with psychosis related to cannabis and sectioned at the age of 15 but discharged into the care of his GP in 2017.
Dr Crosby, his treating clinician at Ashworth secure hospital, said the defendant's learning disability meant he would not fully have understood the effect not taking his medication and using cannabis would have on his mental health.
He said: "He should never have been discharged from community mental health services.
"I think it is a big ask for somebody with such complex mental health problems, at such a young age, to be managed by a general practitioner.''
Peter Wright QC, defending, said Bennett-Eko had tried to seek help for his mental health problems six times in the weeks leading up to Zakari's death.
The court heard on September 8 he went to North Manchester General Hospital and asked to be sectioned but left before he could be treated.
Mr Justice Fraser said: "You expressly asked to be sectioned.
"The notes of one of those visits positively states 'no emergency, no urgency' and you were again simply referred back to your GP.''
In a statement read to the court, Zakari's mother Emma Blood said: "I will never understand why, nor will I get over this.''
Miss Blood, who was eight months pregnant with Bennett-Eko's daughter at the time of their son's death, added: "I can only hope, in time, the man responsible will come to understand the unimaginable pain his actions have caused.''
On September 11, Bennett-Eko had taken his son out in his pushchair at about 4pm while Miss Blood was upstairs in their home in River Street, Radcliffe.
After throwing his son over a five foot high fence into the river he walked to the nearby Lock Keeper pub where he was later arrested.
Zakari was pronounced dead in hospital after being rescued by emergency services at about 5.15pm.