This is the heartbreaking moment the son of slain Dean Fitzpatrick lay flowers at his father’s grave – nine years on from his killing.
Tragic Dean, 23, who is a brother of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick, was stabbed to death by his stepfather Dave Mahon on May 25, 2013.
And marking what is now the ninth anniversary of his death, Dean’s little boy Leon, 10, paid a visit to his Dad’s grave at Fingal cemetery on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Partner of slain Dean Fitzpatrick fears her son bumping into killer Dave Mahon
Speaking about her son’s loss, Sarah O’Rourke, Dean’s former partner, said: “Nine years ago my son lost his dad. He was only 18 months old, now he’s nearly 11 and he still finds it hard to accept that his dad is gone.
“My heart breaks for him. He’s missed every day and is always in our thoughts.
“Keep looking over your boy,” she said in a message to Dean.
Sarah also shared with us an image of Leon placing flowers at his father’s grave – marking the anniversary of the day his life was taken.
She also shared childhood pictures of Dean beside photos of her son at a similar age – showing how alike they are.
“He’s very like Dean. It’s very sad,” she added.
Dean’s stepfather Mahon was released from prison last year after serving five years behind bars for the killing.
Mahon’s trial heard how he handed himself in the day after the incident – and claimed Dean ran into a knife he had taken off him in an altercation at his flat at Burnell Square, Northern Cross , Malahide, north Dublin.
In 2016 Mahon was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison - but served five due to remission.
Speaking to this paper previously, Sarah told of the horrific toll Dean’s death has had on her son.
“Leon has problems, and it’s down to not having his father,” she said.
“I have Leon seeing a psychologist because a few times he’s told me, and this is hard for me to tell you, that he wanted to go to heaven to see his Daddy.
“My partner brought him into Temple Street one night because he came downstairs and he was upset.”
The devastated mother said she wants the public to know this because she believes it’s important to highlight the trauma children suffer when their parent’s life is taken.
“I’ve been rearing Leon since the day Dean died,” she added. “I think people need to know that something like this can happen to a child. He’s a 10-year-old child and he is suffering mentally.
“He knows to a certain extent what happened to Dean, but I haven’t told him the full story in terms of who was responsible for his father’s death.
“Audrey was Leon’s grandmother and Leon doesn’t know it was his grandmother’s husband that was responsible.
“When Leon becomes a teenager, I’m the one that has to sit my son down and tell him what happened to his father.”
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