Man jailed for trying to kill toddler by stepping in front of train

Danquah claimed he was unable to understand his actions due to mental illness but this was rejected by the jury

A man who tried to murder a toddler by stepping in front of a moving train while carrying the boy on his shoulders has been jailed for 10 years.

Frederick Danquah took the two-year-old to Garrowhill railway station, in the east end of Glasgow, in July 2023 after he had split from his partner.

They were struck by the train and taken to hospital but the child was left with minor grazes and has since fully recovered.

Danquah, 28, was convicted of attempted murder last month, after claiming he was unable to appreciate his actions due to mental illness.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that he was deemed to have an "adjustment disorder", but was not at a level which absolved him of being criminally responsible.

The case had previously been described by the judge as a "murder suicide".

Sentencing Danquah, Tony Kelly said he had read an emotional impact statement from the boy's mother.

He told him: "You endangered the life of the boy, You intended to take his life.

"You meant to have his mother to attend his funeral."

Jurors heard how Danquah had struggled to accept his relationship with his partner was over and that they had continued to live together.

They also heard that the ex-partner had discussed a new relationship she was in and had made it clear they were not getting back together.

On the day of the incident, 2 July 2023, Danquah had collected the child from another address in the city and posted a message on Facebook saying he could not "continue to live in this darkness".

He was spotted carrying the boy as he tried to climb over fence of a bridge in Anderston overlooking M8 motorway.

He was spoken to by a police officer and allowed to leave the area.

Danquah then went on to Garrowhill station where he, carrying the child, stepped in front of a train pulling into the station at about 19:20.

The child suffered grazes or bruises on the forehead, head, back, face and nose - and was described as looking shocked in the hospital.

Danquah sustained fractures to his lower spine and his jaw.

After the incident, Danquah was held at a mental health clinic in Glasgow before being discharged.

Gary Allan KC, defending, said what happened was "wholly out of character".

Ch Insp Marc Francey said the child was now doing well, though officers could have "easily been looking at a very different investigation".

The British Transport Police officer added: "Danquah's actions that day were incomprehensible.

"He deliberately put a young child's life in extreme danger and it is only through sheer luck that he wasn't seriously injured or killed."