Serious Case Review 'will find if anything could have been done' to protect Northampton two-year-old murdered by father

Toddler Dylan was two years old when he was beaten to death by Raphael Kennedy in December 2017.

At Northampton Crown Court yesterday, Kennedy, 31, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for viciously assaulting the boy and waiting over an hour to call 999.

After Dylan's death in December 2017, Northamptonshire's Safeguarding Children Board launched a serious case review into the murder to investigate if anything more could have been done to protect him.

Today (October 31), director of children services, Walter McCulloch, promised his team would look into all the circumstances that led to Dylan's tragic death.

He said: “The tragic murder of Dylan has had a devastating effect on so many people and the wider community. Our thoughts are with them all at this time.

“It is critical we now work with partners to review all the circumstances which led to this tragedy to see what more, if anything, could have been done to protect him.

“To this end, a Serious Case Review is already underway and will publish its findings in due course.

“This will fully investigate what involvement the council or other agencies had in Dylan’s life to see what if anything could have been done differently to protect him from harm.”

Serious case reviews are launched whenever a child is seriously harmed or dies as a result of abuse or neglect and are, by law, carried out by independent bodies.

The court heard how Kennedy met Dylan just 11 weeks before his death when he discovered he was his father. Kennedy was allowed to look after Dylan at his flat in Arthur Street.

The court also heard how Dylan had class-A drugs in his bloodstream and in his hair fibres after his death. Cocaine and drug paraphernalia were reportedly strewn around Kennedy's flat when police searched it, and including a yellow Kinder Surprise capsule containing a gram of heroin which was found under his living room sofa.