Paranoid schizophrenic father, 23, who threw his son into a river because he thought the 11-month-old was 'turning into the devil' had 'begged to be sectioned three days earlier', review finds

A paranoid schizophrenic father 'begged to be sectioned three days' before he threw his son into a river because he thought the 11-month-old was 'turning into the devil'. 

Zak Bennett-Eko, 23, was sentenced to a hospital order last year after being found guilty of the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of his son Zakari.

He threw the 11-month-old from a bridge into the River Irwell in Radcliffe in Bury, Greater Manchester, on the afternoon of September 11, 2019.

During his trial, the court heard Bennett-Eko had gone to North Manchester General Hospital days before his son's death and asked to be sectioned but left before being treated.

A serious case review published by Bury Integrated Safeguarding Partnership found Bennett-Eko had been discharged from a learning disability service after moving between Bury and Manchester.

Zak Bennett-Eko , 23, was sentenced to a hospital order last year after being found guilty of the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of his son Zakari

The review, led by Paul Sharkey, listed 13 factors which combined to produce a 'pathway to harm' for Zakari, including a 'fragmented and very complex adult health and social care system'.

The report said Bennett-Eko and Zakari's mother, Emma Blood, were relocated to Bury from Manchester in June 2018 by Manchester Housing Solutions and that was a major factor in their 'social isolation and increased vulnerability'.

Had they been dealt with a month later they would have been found temporary accommodation in Manchester due to a change in policy, the review found.

He said he believed the 11-month-old was turning into the devil when he threw him from a bridge into the River Irwell in Radcliffe in Bury, Greater Manchester, on the afternoon of September 11, 2019

In August that year, Bennett-Eko was discharged from the Manchester learning disability service due to a lack of attendance.

The review said: 'The result was that became 'lost' and his needs neglected by the care system in Manchester, including the key element of a responsible clinician to oversee his medication.'

Reviewers said a 'flawed' assessment carried out by Bury Children's Social Care in May 2019 did not take into account the risks of Bennett-Eko not taking his medication and reverting to cannabis use.

By August that year his mental health had rapidly deteriorated and in September 2019 he attended A&E at the North Manchester General Hospital three times, but delays meant he was not seen by an access and crisis service before his son's death.

Tony Decrop, assistant director of social care and safeguarding at Bury Council, said there had been a failure to 'appreciate fully' the risk Bennett-Eko posed to his son.

He added: 'All the agencies involved are truly sorry for what happened and are determined to do all they can to prevent, so far as humanly possible, something like this happening again.

The report said Bennett-Eko and Zakari's mother, Emma Blood , were relocated to Bury from Manchester in June 2018 by Manchester Housing Solutions and that was a major factor in their 'social isolation and increased vulnerability'

'We have already learned from the review of this case and action has been taken as a result.'

Bernadette Enright, executive director of adult social services for Manchester City Council, said: 'This was a complex case with multiple factors and a distressing and extreme conclusion. It's important for all agencies involved in this case to reflect on the run-up to these tragic events and use learnings to strengthen practice.'

Julian Hendy, of the Hundred Families charity, said: 'Zakari's father had a concerning history of serious mental illness and violence which was known to services, but he was not followed up and monitored as he should have been.

'He too was vulnerable, yet despite asking for help on numerous occasions he didn't receive the care and treatment he so desperately needed. Had he done so young Zak might still be with us today.'

Three days after Bennett-Eko went to A&E, he took baby Zakari out for a walk in his pushchair in Radcliffe, while the toddler's mother Ms Blood stayed at their flat.

Eyewitnesses saw him pick his son out of the pram then swing the tot backwards and forwards before throwing baby Zakari over a fence and into the River Irwell.

While attempts were made to rescue Baby Zakari they proved unsuccessful because of the steep river bank.

Meanwhile, Bennett-Eko went to the nearby Lock Keeper pub and sat at a table while emergency services scrambled to the scene in an attempt to save the baby's life.

He was later arrested at the pub and was said to have made some admissions to another customer in the pub about what he had done.

Bennett-Eko went to the nearby Lock Keeper pub and sat at a table while emergency services scrambled to the scene in an attempt to save the baby's life

Before moving to Radcliffe in 2018, the baby's parents had been known to Manchester social services.

But after an assessment in Bury, and a positive mental health check, no immediate difficulties were identified.

But it was not then known the father had been discharged from the care of Manchester Learning Disability Service.

The report revealed another incident in May before the incident, where Bennett-Eko said he wanted to kill himself and had stopped taking his medication.

But a proposed shared learning disability and adult social care assessment did not take place as he had split from Ms Blood and was back living in Manchester.

Social services remained unaware he had returned to the household later, before he made three trips to A&E at North Manchester General between August 31 and September 8.

In the review he noted the concerns around vulnerable first-time parents living within a context of low income, lack of appropriate housing and away from their social and family support networks.

He said: 'A father with learning disabilities and mental health needs which were not met in the crucial months leading up to baby Zakari's death.

'A father who had become lost to the Manchester adult social and health support agencies on the family's move to Bury in June 2018.'

In a statement Ms Blood said: 'I will never understand why, nor will I get over this.'

She was eight months pregnant with Bennett-Eko's daughter at the time of their son's death.

She added: 'I can only hope, in time, the man responsible will come to understand the unimaginable pain his actions have caused.'