Mitchell Denahy’s sister told the Echo that “nobody feels the deep wounding consequences of his actions as much as he does himself”, reports Victoria Munro
The family of a Chingford woman killed by her severely mentally ill son has spoken out in his defence, explaining that he “loved her dearly”.
Beverley Denahy, 61, died in her Waverley Avenue home on 22nd January in 2020 after she was attacked by her 27-year-old son Mitchell.
Mitchell was arrested at the scene and put on trial for murder twice, against the wishes of some of his surviving relatives, according to his sister, who told the Echo they “had to fight to be heard” by police.
However, in both cases, the jury was unable to reach a decision and, on 3rd March this year, he was instead convicted of manslaughter due to his diminished responsibility. He is being held in a secure mental health unit and is due to be sentenced in July.
In a statement to the Echo, made on behalf of the Denahy family, Mitchell’s sister Natasha Morgan criticised the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for their handling of her brother’s case.
She also said her family has received “shocking” abuse, some of it racially motivated, by members of the public “making assumptions when they do not know the full story”.
The year after Beverley’s death, Mitchell began to receive “the help he needed” from the NHS and she added that it is a tragedy her mother “is not here to see the progress he has made in treatment”.
The statement reads: “She desperately wanted this for him. She wanted her Mitch back, as we all did. He was the apple of my mother’s eye and loved her dearly. Nobody feels the deep wounding consequences of his actions as much as he does himself.
“For almost two years all of us, including my mother, tried repeatedly to help Mitchell with his deteriorating mental health. He would show progress at times and we would be hopeful he was getting better but then he would relapse. It was a never-ending cycle.
“A few weeks before my mother lost her life, we even arranged a family intervention for Mitchell because of our concerns for him, which proved unsuccessful. He was not the same man we knew him to be for such a long time before the incident. We knew something was seriously wrong with his mental health but did not know the severity of it or how to get effective help for him.
“It was an extremely difficult time and heart-breaking for us to go through. It affected us all greatly. We believe it could have been any one of us that lost our lives and we wish we could have done more to help him when he needed it most. We tried but clearly did not do enough.”
While the family is grateful to the NHS “for their support in treating Mitchell and the ongoing care they are providing for him”, Natasha adds: “We only wish he could have received that treatment before he killed our mother.
“My family and I have been completely devastated and our lives shattered by what has happened; we have essentially lost two family members. None of us will ever be the same again and we will have to live with this trauma now for every day of our lives.”
What made the family’s pain even worse, she writes, was what they see as “serious failings” from the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service, who she believes “failed to acknowledge” Mitchell’s mental illness.
Natasha writes: “The police continued to ignore our attempts to contribute relevant information about his background and history and we felt shut out with no explanation.
“We believe this had severe consequences – not only for us but for Mitchell as well. He deteriorated further when they sent him to prison instead of a psychiatric hospital for assessment.
“We were not offered our rights as victims. The prosecution continued to pursue a murder charge in spite of everything they were made aware of about Mitchell’s deteriorating mental health throughout the two years before my mothers death.
“We believe the case was severely mishandled in many ways by all involved and we were not listened to, which just added to our pain. I have lost faith in the police, the CPS and the system itself. I believe they lack the ability or willingness to carry out true justice.”
The family’s outrage was compounded, she adds, by the fact her brother’s mental illness was not mentioned by police in a press release about his conviction earlier this year.
Natasha writes: “[This] has allowed many ignorant people to throw abuse at my family through social media, some of which has been racial abuse. This has left us exposed and vulnerable and should not have happened.
“My family and I would appreciate it if people would refrain from making assumptions when they do not know the full story and have not been given crucial details relating to the case. There is so much negativity going around and we just want peace. It has been three years of hell and the public’s reaction[…] has been shocking.
“We ask people to please give my family the dignity and respect we deserve, both as victims and as bereaved family members. We ask that you respect my mother’s memory and the deep love she had for her son.
“For all those out there who have been failed by the police and the system, do not give up, help is out there. Keep fighting and stay strong. Mental illness is very serious and there should be much more awareness and help made available. I just hope nobody else ever has to go through what my family has had to experience.”
The Metropolitan Police and the CPS were contacted for comment on 2nd May but had yet to respond at the time of writing.
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