Man charged with manslaughter of partners 21-month-old son
A man has been arrested and charged with the manslaughter of toddler Jordan Thompson, who was left in his care in the NSW Hunter Region in 2005.
Cecil Kennedy, 49, was charged on Monday night in relation to the death of his then-partner’s 21-month-old son.
Jordan Thompson died aged 21 months in 2005.Credit:NSW Police
Police allege the boy’s mother, Bernice Swales, had left her Singleton unit to buy groceries on March 19, 2005 when she returned home to find Jordan unresponsive.
She picked him up and ran across the road to Singleton Hospital but he was pronounced dead.
Bernice Swales leaves the NSW Coroner’s Court in 2015. Credit:Kate Geraghty
“Police were told Jordan had been found face down in the bathtub; however, a post-mortem later found high levels of a prescription medication used to treat depression in his system,†NSW Police said in a statement on Monday.
Homicide squad detectives established Strike Force Kyeama to investigate the circumstances surrounding the toddler’s death.
A coronial inquest began in 2008 and resumed in 2015. Meanwhile, a $100,000 reward for information was also announced by the NSW government.
In 2018, NSW Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott found the toddler had been “deliberately administered†antidepressant medication by a “known†person and died as a consequence of the drug’s toxicity.
Following further inquiries, Mr Kennedy was arrested at a home in Doonside, in Sydney’s west, about 5pm on Monday. He was taken to Blacktown police station.
Ms Swales told Nine’s A Current Affair program on Monday she hoped to get some answers about “what actually happenedâ€.
“I’m very grateful for all the work that’s been done ... to get justice for my son,†she said.
“As a mother, you never want to lay a child to rest and ... it’s been a long time, it’s been long overdue.â€
Detective Inspector Paul Quigg described the investigation as “protracted and complexâ€, lasting 16½ years.
“Jordan never had a life, he was only 21 months old at the time of his death, he didn’t experience a life, education, and the finer things in life as you get older,†Inspector Quigg told A Current Affair.
“My main focus, and the focus of the entire team, was to find some form of closure to the family.â€
Mr Kennedy was refused police bail and is due to face Blacktown Local Court on Tuesday.
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