Who was Bradyn Dillon, the nine-year-old boy that Canberra failed to keep safe?

Bradyn Dillon was nine years old when, after months of torture, he was murdered by his father.

He had been withdrawn from the world, isolated, and terrorised by the man who was meant to be caring for him.

In recent years the focus on Bradyn has turned to the systemic issues his death revealed, but his story remains one about a boy who suffered and died inside a system that failed its most basic duty to Bradyn: to keep him safe.

WARNING: This story contains graphic details that readers may find distressing.

Court records detail Bradyn’s final weeks with his father, Graham Dillon, who lied to authorities, convincing them he had sole custody of the boy.

For two years from 2014 to 2016 Bradyn endured escalating violence at the hands of his…