Chingford Mitchell Denahy trial over mum's death flawed, says sister

Natasha Denahy, 32, said she believed racism was a factor in the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decision to “withhold” key evidence from jurors.

Her brother Mitchell, 27, of Waverley Avenue, Chingford, admits and was convicted in March of killing their mother, 61-year-old Beverley Denahy, with a metal stopcock key.

Beverley was found at the family home on January 22, 2020, with serious head injuries.

For two years before her death, Natasha said, the family had “tried repeatedly” to get help for Mitchell’s “deteriorating mental health”.

But she claimed prosecutors ignored clear evidence of his condition and persisted in seeking a murder conviction.

“They know he wasn’t aggressive,” she said. “They know there was nothing on his record. He was an upstanding citizen.

“They failed to acknowledge my brother was seriously mentally ill from the start.

"Nobody feels the deep wounding consequences of his actions as much as he does himself."

Natasha said Mitchell was 'the apple of my mother's eye' (Image: Denahy family)

Mental health

Since his arrest in 2020, Mitchell has been formally diagnosed as mentally ill.

But he began showing symptoms in 2018, Natasha said.

Before his illness, Natasha said: “He had no problems, no violence, no nothing. He was the apple of my mother’s eye. He went above and beyond for her and she did the same. He was the perfect child, the perfect brother, the perfect uncle, the perfect son.

“Then he started going through difficulty in his life and deteriorated. He was not himself for about two years before the incident. It was an extremely difficult time and heartbreaking for us to go through.”

According to Natasha, police were informed of Mitchell’s illness before they entered the property that day.

“My dad was on bodycam footage, clearly explaining that Mitchell had been struggling with his mental health,” she said.

Natasha Denahy (left) said it was 'heartbreaking' to watch her brother battle mental illness as his family tried in vain to find him help (Image: Denahy family)

'Distress'

Shortly after the killing, Natasha filed her first formal complaint with the police.

“They mishandled everything,” she alleged.

“They caused distress to my family. On the night, the crime scene could be seen by members of the public.

“Then they left my mother’s home open. We drove past one day and it was completely open.

“When I went into the house, the clean-up of the crime scene was insufficient. That’s all I’m going to say about that. But it was very distressing.”

She believes that complaint turned the authorities against her family.

They learned Mitchell had been “sent to prison when he should have been sent to a psychiatric unit,” she said.

Mitchell Denahy and his mother Beverley before his mental health deteriorated (Image: Denahy family)

“He could have died in prison. He was deteriorating further. We could have lost him too.

“The police continued to ignore our attempts to contribute relevant information about his background and history and we felt shut out with no explanation.”

He was only moved to a hospital after the family fought to have him assessed by the NHS, she said, resulting in his diagnosis.

The trial

Prosecutors twice took Mitchell to trial and asked jurors to convict him of murder, even though he was willing to plead to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, said Natasha.

In court, she said, prosecutors “downplayed” Mitchell’s proven mental health issues and seemed intent on convicting him of murder, in spite of the evidence.

For example, she said, they showed text messages where he and his mum argued but not others from the same days where Beverley expressed concern for Mitchell’s mental health and out-of-character behaviour.

“They tried to portray that he was just horrible, which wasn’t true,” said Natasha.

Both juries failed to convict Mitchell of murder and his manslaughter plea was eventually accepted. He will be sentenced in July.

“Straight after the trial I made a complaint to the CPS,” said Natasha.

She believes “there is racism involved” in the family’s treatment.

Natasha Denahy (right) said she believed the investigation and prosecution of brother Mitchell's (left) case was affected by racism (Image: Denahy family)

“It affects you severely,” she said. “I suffer from PTSD because of this.

“I’m not letting it go. This is my mum’s memory and investigation, and my brother’s life. I’m going to be taking it further.”

Response

The Met Police said its Specialist Crime Command detectives “worked closely with the CPS who decided it was in the public interest to prosecute Mitchell Denahy for murder.”

“A complaint has been received in relation to this case,” the force said. “This is currently being assessed.”

It added: “This is an extremely tragic case and our thoughts remain with the Denahy family.”

The CPS did not respond to requests for comment.