It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t neglect. It was murder. The council murdered my son
Shattered dad says series of official failures led to tragedy in graveyard
Aheartbroken dad has accused a council of murdering his son after a sheriff ruled his death could have been avoided.
Ryan Williamson, whose son Ciaran was cr ushed by a 7ft headstone in May 2015, said he is determined to campaign for changes in the law to improve graveyard safety.
After a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) last week ruled his son need not have died, he accused Glasgow City Council of a series of failures that led to his son’s death and said he is yet to receive a personal apology from officials.
Ciaran was just eight years old when the stone collapsed on him in Glasgow’s Craigton Cemetery, just minutes after he and some pals had climbed in through a hole in the graveyard wall. He was killed instantly, with the force causing an immediate cardiac arrest.
Sheriff Linda Ruxton this week ruled the accident could have been avoided but praised the authority’s efforts to improve graveyard safety following the tragedy.
Her findings will now be referred to the Scottish Government, which could lead to changes in the law to improve public safety in graveyards. Speaking to The Sunday Post, Ryan, 28, from Pollok, said: “The council has murdered my son.
“Their catalogue of errors and people not doing their jobs correctly is the reason why Ciaran is dead. “Why did it take for this to happen before someone said, ‘ This needs to be
dealt with’?”
Ryan is determined to campaign for a change in the law to ensure local authorities have the same inspection programme in place for all graveyards.
He is also calling for an end to unmanned burial grounds, like Craigton Cemetery, which had been unstaffed for years before Ciaran died.
He said: “We are hoping the law is changed, or a new one is created, to make sure this doesn’t happen again and nobody has to go through this. “Ciaran was such a kind-hearted
boy and he would never want anyone to suffer the way he did. I want to do this for him.
“The Scottish Government needs to make sure councils take action.
“There should be one set of rules that everyone needs to follow, no matter what.
“We are hoping that the law is changed, or a new one is created, to make sure this doesn’t happen ever again.”
Sheriff Ruxton ruled the council’s lack of a proper graveyard inspection process and failure to repair the hole in the cemetery wall after it was reported in 2014 were contributing factors in Ciaran’s death.
The local authority’s former head of land and environmental services, Alastair Brown, who gave evidence to the enquiry, was also criticised by Sheriff Ruxton.
She accused him of deliberately changing the subject, being “barely able to give a straight answer” and said he was “a master” at giving unclear, difficult to understand responses.
Ryan said: “I hope he can sleep at night, knowing that he didn’t do his job properly.
“It was obvious that he didn’t want to answer questions, and he should be completely ashamed of himself. The whole council should be, if that is the kind of person they employ.”
Ma r g a r e t A i t k e n , C i a r a n’s grandmother, also spoke to The Sunday Post about how she has been left shattered by the tragedy.
She said: “It is heartbreaking, and I can hardly take it in.
“Ciaran isn’t coming back, and it’s so cruel and unfair that he had to die for this investigation to happen.
“I don’t know how we are going to get over this, but we are determined to keep fighting for safety and make sure other families don’t have to suffer like this.”
So l i c i t o r Ei l i s h L i n d s a y, o f Thompsons solicitors, represented Ryan during the Fatal Accident Inquiry, and said: “Ciaran’s dad and gran have shown remarkable courage throughout this whole FAI process and they welcome its findings.
“The awful accident which took the life of eight- year- old Ciaran could so easily have been avoided had Glasgow City Council taken steps to maintain Craigton Cemetery.
“Ciaran’s family, and myself, will be keeping a close watch to ensure both local authorities and the Scottish Government move quickly to i mplement the very clear recommendations made by Sheriff Ruxton.”
Glasgow City Council said it accepted the findings, and said: “We are sorry and our thoughts remain with Ciaran’s family and friends.
“It is clear that the Sheriff expects national guidelines and advice to be put in place for all cemeteries and, in particular, for dealing with larger and often older memorials.
“The council will adopt those guidelines once they are available.
“The council had already taken steps that address the sheriff’s other recommendations prior to the inquiry and used the expert evidence heard in court to further strengthen its procedures.”
Po l i c e Scotland said: “We acknowledge the comments made which will be reviewed regarding organisational learning.”
One expert told the four- week inquiry that a “gust of wind” could have toppled the headstone and the sheriff ruled the boys had not been swinging on it but simply playing nearby.
Ciaran’s mother, Stephanie Griffin, said: “Every day we are crippled with the agony of losing Ciaran but this conclusion has not brought peace, answers or even a sense of justice.
“We’ve been dragged through a process that could have been shortened had Glasgow City Council not refused to concede to obvious failings.
“Instead it threw thousands of pounds of public money at a QC and advocate who specialise in criminal cases – this defensive approach shows it set out from day one to divert blame and muddy the waters.”
Ciaran was such a kind-hearted boy and he would never want to see anyone suffer the way he did. I want to do this for him