Sutherland's parents bemused by son's tragic death

The parents of the late Olympic boxer Darren Sutherland said they still could not fathom their son’s untimely death.

The 27-year-old Irish fighter, who clinched bronze at the Beijing games, was found hanged in his London flat on September 14 by his promoter Frank Maloney.

His grieving parents Tony and Linda insisted Sutherland was not depressed and said he had been making future plans up until the day he died.

“I don’t know why he did what he did, I can’t understand,” Mrs Sutherland told RTE television.

“Darren had his whole life ahead of him, my Darren didn’t suffer from depression.”

Mr Sutherland said, although his son had been anxious about a cut to his eye sustained during an earlier fight, he was in positive spirits the day before his death.

“I was only talking to Darren on Sunday and he was in good form. I just can’t get my head around it,” he told the Late Late Show.

“One minute Darren was there and then a bolt of lightning just took him away.”

A visibly emotional Mr Sutherland also expressed frustration at the time delay between his son’s body being found and his family being informed.

“It was on Bebo, it was on the internet. Somebody put it on the internet, ’Darren rest in peace’.

“That’s before we even knew our son was dead,” he said.

“The first person to know that your child is dead should be you.”

After hearing the tragic news, Sutherland’s father travelled to London to arrange for his son’s body to be brought back to Navan, Co Meath.

On arrival at his son’s apartment, Mr Sutherland found a week’s worth of groceries in the kitchen and a list Sutherland had made of things to do on September 14.

“It was just like he was there – there was nothing out of place,” he said.

“Darren knew where he was going in life.”

The Sutherlands said they hoped their son, nicknamed The Dazzler, would leave a positive legacy behind him.

“I hope people remember Darren for who he was and not for what happened at the end,” Mr Sutherland said.

“I’m so proud of that boy it’s unreal.”