Man who shot dead 6-year-old great-grandson Stanley Metcalf shows no remorse as he gets sent to jail
Albert Grannon, who shot dead his six-year-old great-grandson Stanley Metcalf with an unlicensed air rifle, was sentenced to three years of imprisonment on Tuesday. Despite the prison sentence, Stanley's parents are still torn that the 78-year-old has not apologized for his deed.
The tragedy occurred when Stanley, along with his parents Jenny Dees and Andy Metcalf, and his twin sister, was visiting his great-grandparents on July 26, 2018. The 78-year-old retired ship worker had gathered his family to remember his youngest son Andrew – a fireman who died at age 40 of a brain aneurysm 15 years earlier.
However, things took a turn for the worse when Stanley asked to see Grannon's gun and was led into another room by the pensioner who showed him his rifle, which had been modified to kill vermins. That is when the rest of the family heard a deafening gunshot from the room. Stanley had been shot in his abdomen by a pellet. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Grannon, of Church Lane, Sproatley, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Tuesday, July 2, and was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court.
The court heard that after Grannon "accidentally" pulled the trigger, the boy asked him: "Why have you shot me, Grandad?" The pensioner, later in court, admitted that he possessed an air rifle without holding a firearms certificate.
An investigation was immediately launched by police in the case, where Grannon's statements initially suggested that it "was a tragic accident involving a pellet gun" with the pensioner saying that the rifle had accidentally gone off, hit the ground and ricocheted hitting Stanley's abdomen. However, forensic tests revealed that the gun could not have gone off on its own, and the bullet had not ricocheted, indicating that Grannon had pointed the gun at Stanley.
Stanley's mother, 41-year-old Jenny, revealed to the court that she still had not received an apology from her grandfather for killing her son because of his criminal recklessness. She said she had initially felt sorry for the pensioner but not anymore: "I don't feel sorry for him now."
"Not once did he say sorry. Now, if he did, it would be meaningless. Too little, too late," she said, according to the Daily Mail. The tragic incident resulted in a rift in the close-knit family with many still displaying a staunch loyalty towards Grannon, with one of his daughters shouting: "I love you, Dad!" as he was led to the prison.
Grannon's lack of remorse following the months after Stanley's death shocked many. Those close to Stanley's parents were offended by a photograph Grannon posted on Facebook just before Christmas last year, where he is seen celebrating with his wife on board a luxury cruise liner. The picture shows him wearing a white tuxedo, while his wife Jennifer is dressed in a long, white evening gown. The photograph was posted on December 22, just a day after what would have been Stanley's seventh birthday.
While Grannon and his wife were on the cruise, Stanley's parents were doing their best to help Elsie cope with her first birthday and Christmas without her twin brother.
"No remorse from the day he killed him, never once apologized and still no remorse today in court from the man who took away my nephew's life and destroyed our family," Stanley's aunt Lisa Metcalf Campbell wrote on Facebook. "No remorse from his family who still chose to stand by him today. Shame on you!"
Stanley's parents are now campaigning for tougher laws to control ownership and use of air guns.