A mum who murdered her own child and a 'thug for hire' - The criminals locked up this week

A mum who murdered her own child by poisoning him with antidepressants is amongst those who have been jailed in Greater Manchester this week.

Also locked up this week was a fraudster who conned his dad out of thousands and a 'thug for hire'.

Prison terms are handed down to the worst offenders each week at our region’s courts. And Manchester Evening News reporters are on hand to cover the most serious cases.

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A mum who murdered her five-year-old son by poisoning him with anti-depressants has been jailed for life - with a minimum term of 18 years. Emergency services were called to Limeside, Oldham, on New Year's Eve, 2021 following reports Dylan Scanlon was unconscious.

Neighbours and family members attempted to resuscitate him, but he was sadly pronounced dead. He was found with 64 bruises to his head, face and body. However, a toxicology report concluded he had nine times the fatal adult dose of an anti-depressant in his system.

The child's mother Claire Scanlon, 38, claimed he had fallen down stepladders and that he had been 'running around with the dog' just 20 minutes before reporting him unresponsive. She was arrested and later hospitalised under the Mental Health Act, during which she admitted to staff members at Edenfield Hospital: "I killed my son."

A police investigation revealed a large number of 'angry' voicemails to her ex-partner Gary Keenan, in which she said he left her for another woman while she struggled to live 'emotionally, practically and financially' as a single mum.

Prosecutors said Scanlon was 'very angry and depressed' following the breakdown of the relationship. In one voicemail, she said: "I promise you, you won't see