Mum of tragic Zakari Bennet-Eko killed by his own dad speaks on her 'beautiful baby boy'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThe mother of an 11-month-old baby who died in horrific circumstances has spoken about her 'beautiful baby boy'. Zakari William Bennett-Eko died at the Royal Bolton Hospital after his father threw him into the River Irwell in Radcliffe on September 11, 2019.
He had been in the water for 45 minutes. A year after the tragedy, his 23-year old father, Zakari Bennett-Eko, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and sentenced to a hospital order. READ MORE: The catalogue of failings that led to drowning of 'happy' baby at hands of dad Senior coroner for Manchester North, Joanne Kearsley, sitting at Rochdale, is presiding over an inquest likely to last at least three weeks.
On its opening day (Monday, February 7), she heard from the baby's mother Emma Blood, who said she and Mr Bennett-Eko were very happy when, in 2018, Zakari arrived weighing a healthy 7lbs 6oz. "He was the most beautiful baby boy," she said. "We both fell in love with him.
I went home with him the day after giving birth." Emma said the whole of her large extended family were 'over the moon'. "It was a really proud moment when we both registered the birth with our names on the certificate as his parents." The inquest has heard how the troubled dad had been a cannabis user since the age 12 and as a teenager had assaulted his mother.
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