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Report: Nothing could have prevented Joe Geeling's murder

09/08/2007

A report into the brutal murder of 11-year-old Bury schoolboy Joe Geeling found that nothing could have been done to prevent the incident from occurring.

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

The borough council was ordered by the Safeguarding Children Board to carry out a serious case review to assess the implications of the murder.

While the report conceded that better links are needed between schools and health and education agencies, it concludes that the murder could not have been prevented by local services.

Ms Eleni Ioannides, executive director for Children's Services, said: "We have looked into the circumstances and there are improvements we can make, but we are confident that none of these improvements would have prevented the situation.

"We believe it is time to let the families, pupils and school move on with their lives and mourn their loss in their own way."

During the press conference, Hester Ormiston, the independent consultant who led the review, said she had been asked by Michael and his mother to express their "sorrow and deep regret for what has happened in this case".



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