THE INQUEST into the death of 15-year-old schoolboy Toyosi Shitta-Bey, who was fatally stabbed on Good Friday last, was adjourned after an application by the Garda yesterday.
Insp Kieran McEneaney, of Finglas Garda station, told Dublin county coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty that criminal proceedings have been instituted and that an individual has been charged.
He said Garda inquiries regarding the case are ongoing.
At the hearing in the County Coroner’s Court in Tallaght, Dr Geraghty read out the written result of the postmortem, carried out by State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy. It said that he died from a stab wound to the chest.
Toyosi Shitta-Bey, of The Boulevard, Mount Eustace, Tyrrelstown, who was a third-year student at Hartstown Community School, was on his way back from the National Aquatic Centre with friends on the night of April 2nd when the stabbing took place.
The 15-year-old’s grieving parents, Segun and Bola, were accompanied by friends from the local community at the opening of the inquest yesterday into their son’s death.
Toyosi’s mother Bola, who identified the body of her son at James Connolly Memorial Hospital following his death, was visibly upset before the hearing and was comforted by a female friend.
During the brief hearing, she was too upset to read her statement in the witness box.
The coroner adjourned the inquest until the completion of criminal proceedings. “This is a very tragic case. Toyosi was only a young boy.
“I want to extend my sympathies to his parents and to his family,” said Dr Geraghty.
Barrister for the family, Killian Murrow, requested a copy of the Garda report to the coroner.
Insp McEneaney said he could get all the information from the superintendent’s office in Blanchardstown.
“The family require some timeframe in which the killing of their son can be investigated,” said Mr Murrow.
The coroner said he was opening the inquest to facilitate the family in getting a death certificate. “I’m not inquiring any further because there are criminal charges,” said Dr Geraghty.
“It will all depend on what happens in the criminal courts as to whether I will open the inquest again.”
Speaking outside the court after the inquest, Bola Shitta-Bey said she was not coping.
“Since my son is dead I’m not okay,” she said, adding that her son was taken from her without any reason.
His father Segun said the family was getting support from the community, but it was very difficult. The couple have six other children.