Father ‘suffocated six-month-old son then hanged himself after breaking up with baby’s mother’

By
Katie Silver

Last updated at 5:36 PM on 8th February 2012

A father suffocated his six-month-old son in the bath and then hanged himself, an inquest heard today.

Paul McBride, 39, of Lancashire, killed baby Ollie shortly after the break-up of a ‘turbulent relationship’ with the child’s mother, Michaela Swain.

The youngster’s dry body was found lying on the bed in the upstairs bedroom of Mr McBride’s home in Preston, Lancashire.

Ollie McBride died at a house in Preston, Lancashire, after his father suffocated him and then took his own life

Ollie McBride died at a house in Preston, Lancashire, after his father suffocated him and then took his own life

Found nearby were two hand-written notes from the taxi driver addressed to his brother – one was written on the back of a court order obtained by Ms Swain.

Preston Coroner’s Court heard Ms Swain had recently secured a non-molestation order against her former partner, designed to prevent him threatening or harassing her.

She alerted police four minutes after he was due to return Ollie to her at 4pm on September 14 last year.

Family members of Mr McBride were the first to make the grim discovery at the address in Marl Hill Crescent, Ribbleton, before police and emergency services arrived.

Mr McBride was hanging from a stairwell in soaking wet clothes.

Upstairs the bath was half-full of tepid water, with dried flowers floating on top.

Police initially thought the toddler may have been drowned but that was later ruled out.

Pathologist Brian Rogers told the hearing: ‘I think Paul got into the bath with baby Ollie and suffocated him at some stage while they were in the bath … but he did not drown the baby.’

There were no obvious signs of injury to the youngster’s body, he added.

Preston deputy coroner Simon Jones recorded verdicts that Mr McBride took his own life and that he unlawfully killed his son.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

How sad. Why do they have to take the children with them? Selfish man. RIP little boy.

Look at that beautiful baby. I will never understand why someone would do this.

The murdering of a child is disgusting. I hope God forgives him, as I doubt anyone else will. RIP little Ollie.

If this man was so threatening that his ex had to take a court order out against him for her protection he should not have been left alone with a baby! Why is aggression against an ex partner seen as irrelevant to whether someone can be a good parent?

That poor baby was completely innocent. I am split here, between seeing the tragic loss of two lives, and also thinking that the poor man must have been in a state of near inanity to do such a thing. Relationship breakups can be absolutely devastating, particularly for men who end up losing everything and often have tragic consequences when they feel there is nothing left to live for.

Whatever you struggle to cope with in this life, you don’t kill your child because of it.The thought of the child dying is horrendous. Just look at the sweet little thing. Never as long as I live will I understand.

This story made me cry! RIP baby Ollie and I hope the family left behind can come to terms with such a tragic end to a young life!

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes