Scottish father who stepped in front of train carrying toddler son jailed for 10 years

ITV News

4 days ago

A Scottish father who stepped in front of a train with his two-year-old son has been jailed for ten years.
Frederick Danquah was carrying his young son when he stepped in front of a train at Garrowhill railway station in Glasgow in July 2023 after an argument with the child's mother.
The 28-year-old sustained a broken jaw and neck fracture, while the boy suffered cuts and bruises.
The toddler was discharged from hospital two days later.
In sentencing Danquah, Judge Tony Kelly said the 'harm was of the greatest kind'.
'To seek to take the life of your son over some hours is great criminality," he said.
"I have no doubt about your intentions: you meant to have his mother attend his funeral.
"There were opportunities to place your son in the care of others, instead you took him with you.
'You require to be punished.'
The judge has also ordered a non-harassment order until the child turns 18.
The court heard it was not just the boy and his family that had been affected by this crime, but the train drivers and rescuers who had experienced 'various stages of upset'.
A jury convicted Danquah of the crime last month, despite him denying the offences, claiming he was mentally unwell at the time.
Danquah's defence lawyer Gary Allan told the court his client had been receiving psychiatric help since a 'one-off horror story took place at his own hand'.
He had urged the judge not to impose a non-harassment order, saying it would 'sever the relationship' with the child.
'The verdict of the jury was that the mental condition of the accused was not such that the statutory defence was made out," Mr Allan said.
"What the jury didn't do was say that he wasn't suffering from some kind of depressive condition.'
The court also heard Danquah's ex-partner had written to the judge offering a 'substantial degree of support', including 'confirmation of his relationship with his child'.
Following the sentencing, DCI Marc Francey from the British Transport Police said Danquah's actions were "incomprehensible" and "abhorrent".
"He deliberately put a young child's life in extreme danger and it is only through sheer luck that he wasn't seriously injured or killed," he said.
"We could have easily been looking at a very different investigation.
"I am pleased to say that the child, now aged four, is doing well and his family now want to put this matter behind them and focus on their future."