Heartbroken twin sister of boy, 6, shot dead by great-grandad has ‘gone within herself’ and mum can’t bear walking her to school after tragedy ‘split family’
THE heartbroken twin sister of a boy who was shot dead by his great-grandad has withdrawn from the world, her devastated family have revealed.
Stanley Metcalf was just six-years-old when Albert Grannon, now 78, "accidentally" fired an air rifle pellet into the boy's abdomen.
The OAP has since admitted to manslaughter after the schoolboy was killed at their home near Hull, East Yorks, on July 26 last year.
Speaking today, mum Jenny Dees revealed how her family had been left "broken" - especially his now seven-year-old twin Elsie.
Jenny said: "Elsie was extremely protective of him and always in charge.
"It is heartbreaking now because the house is just so quiet. The house always used to be so busy and noisy with lots of children, but now it can be eerily quiet.
"It is so hard when Elsie gets upset because she no longer has Stanley to play with."
The mum said Elsie had "gone into herself", saying that the family had been split apart.
And she said that Stanley was "constantly" on her mind - from the minute she woke up to the minute she went to sleep.
Speaking for the first time since her son's tragic death, she said: "Even just walking to school now is so hard.
"I used to have both hands holding both Stanley and his twin sister Elsie, but now I have one hand empty and that is one of the hardest things.
"I did it once and I can't do it again. Now I get in the car to take Elsie and I drive the 30-second drive to school because I can't do it without Stanley."
Stanley was being looked after by Grannon and his wife Jennifer at their home near Hull, East Yorks, on July 26 last year when the incident happened at around 4pm.
I used to have both hands holding both Stanley and his twin sister Elsie, but now I have one hand empty and that is one of the hardest things
Jenny Dees
He was rushed to the Hull Royal Infirmary with serious injuries, after the pellet made a hole in his abdomen, but he later died.
Grannon has since admitted manslaughter, and will be sentenced on Tuesday next week - warned he could face time behind bars.
Detective Inspector Rebecca Dickinson, who has led the investigation, said she was "pleased" that the OAP had "finally admitted his guilt".
She said it had been an "extremely tragic incident" that saw the little boy "who had all his life ahead of him had it cut so needlessly short."
She added: "I am pleased that Albert Grannon has finally admitted his guilt and faced up to the enormity of his actions. Up to now he has shown no real remorse for what happened."
'HE'S SMILING IN EVERY PICTURE'
Jenny said she couldn't talk about the hearing - focusing instead on precious memories of her little boy.
She said: "I go to sleep and when I wake up in the morning, for that one split second I think everything is normal, but then it comes back to me and it just hits me like a tonne of bricks again.
"How was I put into that situation? Why me? Why Stanley and why my family because we were so close?
I am pleased that Albert Grannon has finally admitted his guilt and faced up to the enormity of his actions. Up to now he has shown no real remorse for what happened.
Detective Inspector Rebecca Dickinson
But no matter what, she said she tried to remember Stanley as how he was, always happy and laughing.
Jenny added: "Every picture we have of him he is smiling."
She said the only time he had ever cried was when England lost football, with the schoolboy a mad Hully City suppoerter.
Grieving Jenny added: "He would tell me he would play for them one day and he would say 'Mummy, they will be shouting my name one day'."
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Since Stanley's death, friends and family have been fundraising and hosting a variety of events to remember him.
A special football and netball tournament has also been arranged as a tribute to the six-year-old.
Stanley's Great Big Kick About will be held in Hull on July 7.
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