Alex Malcolm: Mother of murdered boy, 5, 'not told about partner's violent history'

John Dunne @jhdunne2 September 2019
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The mother of a five year old boy beaten to death by her partner for losing a trainer in a park today told an inquest he had domestic violence convictions and the probation service did not tell her.

Alex Malcolm died after Marvyn Iheanacho attacked him after flying into a rage in November 2016.

He was jailed for life and ordered to serve at least 21 years for murder after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court in 2017.

The attack took place in a playground in Mountsfield Park, Catford. The boy suffered 22 injuries from a flurry of blows.

The jury inquest at Southwark Coroner’s’ Court is probing the role of the child safeguarding board, the local authorities and probation services. One of the key issues is the release of Iheanacho from jail for another offence five months before the fatal assault.

The boy’s mother Liliya Breha told the jury at an inquest into his death today: “My son was my world and I’m so angry he’s been taken away”.

She added: “He was beautiful, smart, funny, everyone loved Alex. He would pick flowers for me and say they would make me look beautiful. He was smart and had so much potential.”

She told the inquest she met her son’s killer while he was still in prison but did not know for what offences.

In her statement she said that asked why he was in prison he had said “I am always in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

She said she had believed he was innocent and had no idea of his record for domestic violence.

Ms Breha said she had been reassured that the probation officer dealing with Iheanacho after his release had been “lenient”.

She said: “I could see how lenient they were with him. I couldn’t see a problem.”

She said that the probation service had not asked if she had children.

Ms Breha said that Iheanacho helped her son with his homework and taught him manners. Referring to a previous statement saying that there was a “fear factor in her son’s relationship” she told the court: “He was scared of him (Iheanacho) but not in a bad way. He was just respectful.”

Ms Breha added: “If I had been told (about his history of domestic abuse) there would be no point to this inquest. I want to get to the bottom of everything”.

Representing Alex’s family, Fiona Murphy told Southwark Coroner’s Court in a preliminary hearing: “Our focus is what information was known and what information wasn’t known.

“What the probation service ought to have known, the chronology of events beginning in Iheanacho’s custody to his release in May 2016 and the role of local authorities as to whether Alex’s death could have been prevented.”

Senior Coroner Andrew Harris told the hearing: “There is a lot of public interest in this inquest.

“I intend to look into the level of risk Iheanacho posed, the probation service’s knowledge at the time and if failings could have prevented this risk and information of other state agencies of the risk posed.

“The level of knowledge possessed by the mother of Iheanacho’s violence and why he wasn’t referred as a level two threat.”

Iheanacho, 39 at the time of the murder, had has six convictions for domestic violence against five previous partners.

Asked if the killer had been violent towards her, she said: “His approach was ‘let’s sit down and talk'. He never beat me.”

The inquest, which is scheduled for three weeks.

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