Living hell
Reporter: LEWIS JONES
Date published: 16 February 2012
Pals cleared of Nellie attack: death threats and cruel taunts
EXCLUSIVE: THE families of two Shaw teenagers who were this week eliminated from the investigation into the murder of Nellie Geraghty, have spoken of the death threats and cruel online taunts which have made their lives “a living nightmare”.
Police are satisfied Steven Allt (17) and Michael Kenyon (15) had no involvement in the attack on the 79-year-old last November.
Now the pair can finally try to rebuild their lives after being at the centre of a ferocious and sickening backlash for the past three months.
“It has been horrendous and all the family have suffered — it’s been a complete and utter living hell,” said Steven’s mum, Michelle Allt (35).
News of Nellie’s death rocked an entire community after she was mugged and had her handbag containing her husband’s ashes stolen. The attack happened around noon on Thursday, November 24, near her Elizabeth Grove home. But it was around 7pm the following day when the teenage pair were arrested on suspicion of robbery, having been spotted together in the area almost an hour before the attack.
When the great-grandmother died during the night on Friday, the lads were then questioned on suspicion of murder before being released on bail late on Saturday, having spent the night in custody.
But what would happen next would reveal the sinister side of the social-networking culture.
The pair’s names had been revealed on Facebook and were quickly being circulated on pages set up for locals to discuss community issues.
Before long, it seemed the whole community knew they had been questioned in connection with the high-profile crime.
Michelle added: “Steven had 52 friend requests and so many messages from people he didn’t know. Someone said they were going to slit his throat, we were told a group was walking around Shaw and coming to attack us, eggs were thrown at our windows and we couldn’t go out anywhere.”
Less than a mile away, pent up in their home, Michael’s family were suffering a similar reaction.
His mum Joanna Creegan (42) said: “There were people threatening to hang us or shoot us saying it was the parents’ fault.
“Some said they wanted to tie us to the back of motorbikes, I even passed two women in Shaw who nudged each other and said ‘look, there’s Satan’s mother’.
“We were so surprised at how quick it spread, we had police guarding the street.”
The lads, who had been friends for a few months, had been practising the art of free running — a street-based gymnastic craze — on the day of the attack.
They had headed from Crompton Primary School past Holy Trinity Church, before using a footpath to cut through to Crompton Way.
Steven, who studies landscaping at Oldham College, had appeared just months before in the Chronicle having given up his time to design a garden for a nursing home in Ashton.
He is also the right-hand man for his mother, who has to care for Steven’s two disabled younger brothers.
Steven said: “I have a lot of time for the elderly and would do anything for them, I couldn’t believe what was going on.
“Now I feel so relieved, I can finally get my life back on track, but I think it will be a slow process.”
Michelle said: “There was never any doubt with us that he was innocent, but I can’t describe the ripple effect that it caused.
“Even without being charged he was branded a murderer.”
Michael, currently in Year 10 studying his GCSEs, left Royton and Crompton School after being arrested while his family held him up in his home.
He was relocated to a school outside the area after classmates caught wind of the situation.
Dad Paul Kenyon (36) said: “We can understand how people felt, we were itching to help others in the hunt for the bag and show our condolences but we couldn’t.”
Now, fearing that they’ll never escape the reputation, the family are considering a move down south.
The news that the boys will face no further action was cause to celebrate for both families — but the news is still tainted.
Michelle said: “I don’t think we’ll ever get over this. It’s incredibly bittersweet.
“Nellie’s family have still got no answers, I just hope they can get some closure.”
Michael’s mum Joanna echoed her sentiments: “I just hope they catch the person who has done this.
“We, at the time, said the people who have done this need to be caught, we just never thought our son would be questioned for murder.”
Police have been given more time to question a 37-year-old man arrested in connection with the pensioner’s death, who has been re-bailed until March.
