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Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Irish Times
Murdered teenager Daniel McAnaspie ‘could have been saved' with secure care, inquest hears
Daniel McAnaspie 'could have been saved' if he had been provided secure care, an inquest heard on Tuesday. Aileen Dunne, who was Daniel's guardian ad litem when he was murdered, said it was 'unfathomable' that a special care committee in the HSE had turned down four social-worker applications in 2009 for secure care for him. [ Teenager Daniel McAnespie had begged social workers to 'have him locked up', inquest hears ] A young person who is deemed to be at such risk to themselves or others so as to need therapeutic residential care may be detained in secure care by the High Court following an application by childcare services. The 17-year-old, originally from Finglas, north Dublin, was murdered while in care in 2010. He had had more than 20 care placements in the 15 months before he died as his life became increasingly chaotic. READ MORE These included the now-disused out-of-hours service where young people in care, without a long-term placement, presented at a Garda station at midnight for a bed in a hostel. Daniel, who had been known to care services from birth and was in state care from aged 10, was stabbed to death on February 26th, 2010, at Tolka Valley Park, Dublin 11. His badly decomposed remains were found in a drainage ditch in Co Meath by a farmer almost three months later. Richard Dekker, from Blanchardstown, was sentenced to life in 2017 for his murder. Trevor Noone, then 29 and also from Blanchardstown, was imprisoned for 13 years for manslaughter in 2017 . In July 2022, Dekker, then in his mid-30s, lost his appeal against his conviction . Both were older than Daniel. The inquest, scheduled to run for a week, marks the end of a 15-year legal process for the McAnaspie family. Daniel was the fourth of six children whose father died in December 1996 and mother died in September 2007. Ms Dunne told Meath coroner's court in Trim how in the absence of a secure care placement she had recommended he be sent for therapeutic secure care at Hassela Gotland in Sweden. She said Daniel and his family were in favour of this, but it was opposed by the HSE. 'This boy was running out of options and getting more and more at risk,' Ms Dunne said. 'It was actually frightening to meet him and see the upset, the distress.' He had drug debts and 'seemed to under so much pressure all the time'. 'I don't want any child in this country locked [up], but I do believe in Daniel's head he knew he needed that ... He had this level of impulsivity that he was not able to regulate and he knew that ... He wanted to be contained. He needed someone to keep him safe,' she told the six-person jury. 'At that time, had we secured a placement for him ... it could have saved him. That is the tragedy of it.' Avril Connolly, Daniel's social worker at the time of his death, described efforts 'to keep Daniel safe' from March 2009. Describing him as 'very lost soul, a lost orphaned soul', she said Daniel had 'wit and empathy, sincere love for his family and simple wishes for his future'. Her work with him involved 'considerable firefighting and emergency responding to crisis events' including placement breakdowns, bringing him to hospital and multiple applications for secure care, which he needed 'urgently', she said. She opposed Ms Dunne's recommendation at a District Court hearing in 2009 that Daniel be placed in Hassela Gotland. She said on Tuesday she was not confident it would meet his needs and was concerned about removing him from Ireland and his family. Ms Dunne, describing this as a 'professional difference of opinion', said: 'Daniel was saying: 'I'll give it a go'. It is his voice I am here for.' The hearing continues.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Irish Times
Teenager Daniel McAnespie had begged social workers to ‘have him locked up', inquest hears
Teenager Daniel McAnaspie , who was murdered in 2017, had begged social workers to 'have him locked up' in the months before he died, an inquest into his death has heard. The boy, originally from Finglas , had had more than 20 care placements in the 15 months before he died as his life became increasingly chaotic. His social workers made repeated applications to HSE care committee to seek a secure care for him, all of which were refused. The inquest into his death, which is taking place in Co Meath and is scheduled to last a week, heard on Monday that secure-care beds for children at high risk remain 'in crisis', with 150 such children in inappropriate places. [ Garda Kevin Flatley death: Commissioner and colleagues to attend service at Dublin Castle Opens in new window ] Though there are 24 secure-care beds just 15 are operating due to difficulties staffing them which 'not satisfactory when the need is so great', the six-person jury heard. READ MORE Daniel, who had been known to care services from birth and was in State care from aged 10, was stabbed to death on 26th February 2010 at Tolka Vally Park, Dublin 11. His badly decomposed body was found in a drainage ditch in Co Meath by a farmer almost three months later. In April 2017 Richard Dekker, from Blanchardstown, was sentenced to life for his murder. Trevor Noone, Blanchardstown, was imprisoned for 13 years for manslaughter. In July 2022 Dekker lost his appeal against his sentence. Keith Homan, Daniel's social-care worker on 25th February 2010, told coroner Nathaniel Lacey he worked at the residential care home where Daniel had been living for the previous two weeks, on February 25th 2010. He and a colleague dropped Daniel to meet friends in Finglas and arranged to collect him at 9.30pm. When Daniel did not turn up as arranged Mr Homan phoned him, made attempts to find him and had some text contact, the last at 12.05am when he reported Daniel missing. Monday's inquest heard Daniel's father died when he was very young and he experienced neglect. Deborah Talbot, area manager in Dublin north city social work department said Daniel lived with his mother but this ended when he was 10, though he continued to have supervised access with her. 'He was presenting as sad, anxious and worried about his mother'. When she died this 'was impactful on him,' said Ms Talbot. He had a number of care placements, including with family, but his 'exceptional needs' made his behaviour challenging. He engaged in self-harm, had in-patient psychiatric support and had difficulties managing school, she said. 'In the last 15 months of his life had more than 20 placements,' including out-of-hours which he could only access after midnight, said Ms Talbot. 'Throughout this period the HSE applied for secure care which was not approved and considered the appropriateness of an out of jurisdiction placement.' Social worker Aileen Culhane read a letter she wrote to the HSE's special care committee in late April 2009 appealing its decision not to seek secure care for Daniel, in which she said he had come to the office terrified. 'He pleaded with us to have him locked up. He said that he owes over €2,000 to drug dealers.' The following day, 'he presented in a very tired manner. He had spent the previous night in the Mater hospital A & E department.' She said the team 'used to call him the homing pigeon' as he often came to the office to sleep and get clean clothes. He was very keen to learn to read and write. 'We were very fond of Daniel…He was always pleasant and courteous'. Dr. Gerry McCarney, psychiatrist, who saw Daniel about his use of benzodiazepines and cannabis in 2009, said if he had been placed in secure care 'it would have made a big difference'. He added: 'Secure care is a situation where you know [vulnerable young people] are going to remain in a secure environment.' The inquest continues on Tuesday.
