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General Manchester news

Joe Geeling report 'to be published soon'

08/08/2007

A report into the murder of 11-year-old Bury schoolboy Joe Geeling is due to be published soon.

The body of Joe, a cystic fibrosis sufferer, was battered and stabbed by Michael Hamer, aged 15, in March last year. Joe's body was then dumped in a park in Bury.

Bury Council was ordered by the Safeguarding Children Board to carry out a serious case review to assess the implications of the murder.

Joe's parents and the family of the killer were invited to participate in the council's inquiry, the findings of which are now due for release, according to the BBC.

Councillor Maggie Gibb said: "The purpose of a serious case review is not to point the finger or try to place blame onto a particular organisation for the tragic circumstances which led to the death of Joe Geeling.

"It is to find out if there are ways to improve practice and so reduce the likelihood of a death like this happening again."

In February, three judges at the court of appeal ruled that Michael's original minimum 12-year jail sentence should be raised to 15 years.

The attorney general had referred the case to the court, claiming that a 12-year sentence was not an adequate reflection of the serious nature of the crime.



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