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S NEWS Poppy star 5 SPORT Bolasie’s best 50 Follow us on twitter.com@CroydonGuardian Wednesday, November 26, 2014 60p where sold N charged with bludgeoning to death his adopted son, whose body was found by police stashed in the boot of a car. Colin McSweeny, 58, of Parry Road, South Nor- wood, is set to stand trial in June next year for the mur- der of Shaun McSweeny, discovered by officers called to reports of a man trying to dump a body in the River Thames at 3am on Friday. The 24-year-old, who had a young daughter and a girl- friend, was pronounced dead where he was found near Deptford Wharf. A postmortem examination established he was killed by a blunt force blow to the head. Flowers and tributes have been left outside the former Croydon College student’s family home. One card, signed by Mark, said: “Shaun, I’m going to miss you man! You were such a nice bloke. You didn’t deserve this. I’m never going to forget you”. Another read: “To our beloved Shaun, RIP you legend”. A friend, who studied an entry-level construction course at Croydon College with Shaun in 2009, said he seemed excited about be- coming a father and wanted to follow in his adoptive dad’s footsteps as a firefighter. The 22-year-old, who asked not to be named, said: “His partner at the time was pregnant and he was really excited about being a dad. He got her name tattooed on his arm straight away, as soon as she was born. He was a good dad. “He was just a real gen- uine, happy guy. He lived his life. He’d have fun. We were good pals. We used to go to the pub a lot and just be boys. He was just a calm, chilled lad.” He added: “He wasn’t going to mess about. He was quite serious and had a plan, or seemed like he did anyway. At the time he wanted to be a fireman and was going through the ap- plication forms.” Police arrested Mr Mc- Sweeny on Friday morning after being called to Dept- ford Wharf at about 3am. They charged him with murder later that day. A woman arrested in South Norwood on Friday was released without charge. Mr McSweeny appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday, Tuesday, morning, when he was remanded in custody until a plea and case man- agement hearing on Febru- ary 10. A provisional trial date has been set for June 1. Gruesome discovery: A police officer stands guard near where the body of Shaun McSweeny, inset, was found in Deptford Wharf chris.baynes@ london.newsquest.co.uk REPORTER CHRIS BAYNES Former firefighter to stand trial for killing adopted son unqualified teachers.... page 4 Darth Vader to reprise road safety role ........... page 5 Partnerships with airport is part of Develop Croydon conference .................... page 6 Recycling rates fall.... page 10 Campaign to help child come home for Christmas . . . page 11 Siblings rescue deer from drowning............ page 13 Inside B BL LU UD DG GE EO ON NE ED D TODAY’S PAPER STARTS ON THE NEXT PAGE VIBE Left Fielding 19 9 772040 385034 48 60p where sold Wednesday November 26 2014
