14-year-old to appear in court over boy’s death

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy will appear in court today accused of murdering schoolboy Joe Geeling, whose body was found dumped in a park on Thursday.

The 11-year-old, who had cystic fibrosis, was discovered in an overgrown ditch in Whitehead Park, Bury, Greater Manchester.

A post-mortem examination revealed Joe died of multiple stab wounds.

A police spokeswoman said the 14-year-old would appear in court in Greater Manchester today.

The teenager was arrested one hour after the body was found on Thursday after Joe disappeared while walking home from St Gabriel’s RC High School the day before.

Joe’s parents, Tom and Gwen, his sisters Kelly and Danielle and brothers Sean and James issued a joint statement saying he was a “special person” who did not let the fact he had cystic fibrosis hold him back.

They said: “Everybody wants us to make a statement or give a few comments on how much Joe meant to us and what a loss he will be.

“None of you have enough time to hear how much he meant to us. How do you condense 11 years of fun and love and heartache, worries and accomplishments etc etc etc into a few words?

“Without exaggeration I can say that Joe was one of those special people that if you ever met him and spent even five minutes talking to him he would leave an impression on you that you would remember and usually with fondness.”

Joe’s father said: “We did not wrap him in cotton wool, and he did not let his illness restrict him.

“He could ride his bike good and he would fix his bike and he always had every weekend planned from the start.

“From the start to the finish he was 100mph.

“Joe loved school, although it was a very big effort for him to get there.

“He did not want anyone to know how ill he was, and he would not realise how different he was to other children.”