Jailed for ten years, man who stepped in front of train holding two-year-old child

Daily Mail​

a day ago

A man who attempted to murder a toddler by stepping in front of a moving train while holding the child has been jailed for 10 years.
Frederick Danquah assaulted the two-year-old in his care at Glasgow 's Garrowhill train station on July 2, 2023.
The 28-year-old had been told his relationship with a former partner was over. He was carrying the youngster on his shoulders as the train struck them.
Both were injured but the toddler escaped with minor grazes and has since recovered.
It came after police let Danquah leave with the boy after he was spotted trying to pull himself and the child ver a fence on a foot bridge over a motorway.
Danquah was previously found guilty of attempted murder at the High Court in Glasgow and was yesterday sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He was also convicted of culpable and reckless conduct.
Danquah had lodged a special defence that he was unable to appreciate his actions due to a mental illness.
The court heard yesterday that he was deemed to have an 'adjustment disorder', but was not at a level which absolved him of being criminally responsible.
Yesterday a judge condemned Danquah's attempts to kill the boy, saying: 'You meant to have his mother attend his funeral'.
The incident had been described as an apparent 'murder suicide' during a previous hearing.
Jurors heard how Danquah had struggled to accept his relationship with his partner was over in 2023.
She insisted they would not get back together and that she had since met someone else. He ended up alone with the boy on the day of the murder bid.
At one stage, he wrote what appeared to be a suicide note and posted it on Facebook.
It included: 'I cannot continue to live in this darkness, I guess this is goodbye.'
He was later seen with the child on a footbridge over the M8 in the city centre. He repeatedly tried to pull himself and the boy over a fence.
Police went on to speak to Danquah, but were reassured enough that they left him with the boy.
However, he went on to make his way to Garrowhill station where what his own lawyer called 'a one-off horror story' occurred.
CCTV captured Danquah as he had his boy on his shoulders and then stepped in front of a train pulling into the platform.
An off-duty nurse was at the station and she helped calm the chaotic scenes until paramedics arrived.
The child miraculously suffered only bruising and swelling to his head, back, face and nose.
Danquah, however, had fractures to his spine and jaw.
The boy's mother later learned of what happened and raced to hospital to see her son.
Recalling his condition, she recalled in court: 'He was lying and could not move his body.
'They did not know at the time if there was anything wrong with him. The nurse said he could hear, but was in shock. He had a lot of bruises.'
After the incident, Danquah was initially held at a mental health clinic in Glasgow before being discharged.
Gary Allan KC, defending, said Danquah continues to need help with prison 'frightening the living daylights out of him'.
The advocate said what happened was 'wholly out of character'.
Mr Allan said: 'He has asked me to state how sorry he is that he put the child in the position that he did.'
Sentencing, Judge Tony Kelly said he had read an emotional impact statement from the boy's mother.
He told Danquah: 'The affect on his mother is profound. She is deeply affected.
'She said she felt overwhelmed. She still suffers constant anxiety.'
The judge added: 'You endangered the life of the boy, You intended to take his life.
'You meant to have his mother attend his funeral.'
Members of Danquah's family broke down in tears as he was led handcuffed to the cells.