DRUG-ABUSING COUPLE MARK CONNELLY AND CHERYL HANSON LEAVE SKELETAL SON TO DIE IN RUTHERGLEN

In April 2002, a devastating case revealed how a two-year-old boy, Scott Saunders, was left to die after suffering prolonged abuse and neglect by his parents in Rutherglen, Glasgow. In the week prior to his death in March 2000, neighbours observed Scott standing at his flat's window, naked and emaciated, pressing his hands against the glass in what appeared to be a cry for help. Sadly, no assistance arrived, and a few days later, he was found dead.

At the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday, Mark Connelly, aged 29, partner of Scott's mother, Cheryl Hanson, 24, was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the boy's murder in March 2000. Hanson had previously been sentenced to nine years for culpable homicide.

When Scott's body was discovered, it was covered with approximately 150 injuries, including a severe bite mark on his arm. The child was so undernourished that his ribs and shoulder blades were visible through his skin. Toxicology reports revealed traces of temazepam in his system. He had died from pneumonia after being kept in a cold, locked bedroom for days without food or water, while Hanson and Connelly continued their drug abuse.

Judge Lord Kingarth stated during the sentencing that Connelly should serve a minimum of 16 years. He remarked, “The horrifying nature of your crime will live with all of us who have listened to and seen the evidence over a very long time.”

The case has prompted discussions about reforming child protection procedures in Scotland. However, social workers noted that they could do little to intervene since they had no involvement with the family and were not alerted to the situation.

Connelly was convicted on charges of willful neglect, ill-treatment, abuse, and abandonment of Scott, as well as assaulting the boy through slapping, punching, kicking, and biting. He failed to provide proper nutrition, fluids, clothing, or heating, and repeatedly confined Scott in a locked bedroom without supervision or medical attention.

The court heard that, over just five weeks, Scott had become a skeleton at the hands of his mother and Connelly within their Rutherglen home. Previously, Scott had been in his biological father's care, where a GP described him as healthy and well-fed.

In his final week, Scott was abandoned and confined for days while his mother and Connelly used heroin. Neighbours reported seeing Scott climbing on his bed and waving from the window—apparently trying to attract attention—but when neighbours like Thomas Rubio, 67, noticed these signs, they said, “I often saw him banging at the window with his two wee hands and I was scared he would knock the catch and fall out. If I had known there was something wrong, known what I know now, I would have done something.”

Connelly also disassembled Scott’s bed, leaving him with only a thin mattress and a blanket. A few days before Scott’s death, Connelly had beaten him after he asked for and was refused a third glass of water.

On the day Scott died alone in the flat, the couple received crisis loans from the local Department of Social Security. Hanson claimed she needed the money to feed Scott and keep their home warm, but it was instead spent on drugs and gambling at bookmakers.

When police arrived after the couple returned home to find Scott dead, they described the scene as smelling strongly and littered with methadone bottles. The couple had tried to mask the death by running a bath in an attempt to raise Scott’s body temperature.

The community was aware of Scott’s suffering; neighbors recalled seeing him at the window in the final week, yet no one contacted the authorities at that time. Thomas Rubio expressed regret saying, “If I had known what I know now, I would have done something.”

Scott’s father, George Saunders, expressed his confusion and grief, stating he could not understand why no one intervened. However, he blamed only Hanson and Connelly for his son's death, having had no idea of the extent of the abuse when Scott went to live with his mother after their separation.