The mother of a man who lay dead, padlocked inside his council flat for weeks before his body was discovered, has pledged to fight on to get “justice for my son”.
Father-of-one Michael Stewart, 32, had not been seen for several weeks when police officers visited his flat on Balnagask Avenue in Torry on March 8 this year, after concerns for his wellbeing were raised.
Officers initially found the door had been padlocked shut, but after they broke through, found Mr Stewart’s body inside the property.
From the state of the body, it was evident he had lain dead for weeks.
Following the grim discovery, Aberdeen City Council carried out a review of its procedures in securing its properties, and confirmed that the door had been locked in February, with Mr Stewart still inside.
At the time, a spokesman said: “We are committed to updating our procedures in relation to securing properties that are believed to be vacant.”
But now, months after her son’s death, grieving mother Jane Grant said she is still seeking answers.
Although she has already been turned away by more than 20 solicitors, Ms Grant said she is willing to pursue “every possible option”.
Ms Grant said: “Everybody has this idea that when you put in a claim against anybody, it’s solely to do with money.
“The council has quite openly said it was their mistake for not checking inside while my son was padlocked inside for months.
“This claim is not all about money, it’s about justice for my son.”
She added: “I’m not eating properly, I’m not sleeping properly, my day-to-day life is now all about Michael.
“They updated the policy after all of this, and that will hopefully prevent this happening to anybody else – but if that policy had been in place at the time, I would have found my son in February, instead of all the way into March.
“He had his whole life out ahead of him. I’ll never give up, not until I’ve managed to try every possible option available for Michael.”
Aberdeen City Council declined to comment.
