ALMOST a year after being shot dead by a police officer in the US, Andrew 'AJ' Hanlon's grave is still without a headstone as his family struggles to repay debts.

His mother Dorothea Carroll told the Sunday Tribune that they have been unable to sell their home in France in a bid to pay off loans taken in order to rent a home in Dublin.

The family recently celebrated Hanlon's 21st birthday beside his grave in Saggart but say they are still battling to come to terms with his death.

Hanlon was shot dead by officer Tony Gonzalez in Silverton, Oregon, on 30 June last year. Although he was cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to the shooting, the policeman is currently serving a prison sentence for sexually abusing a teenage girl.

"It's one thing after another. There is no headstone there at the moment; I can't afford one and I am still in debt with everything last year," Dorothea said.

"The house [in France] is still for sale but no one is buying and it's sitting there on the market. I didn't have the money to go over to the States; I had the travel expenses and I had to bring Andrew back home. I was dealing with two funeral parlours.

"I had to take a loan to get rented accommodation in Dublin, so I can't afford to pay for a stone yet. But [his ashes] are laid to rest with his great grandfather and great grandmother."

His family recently made arrangements for flowers to be laid at the house where AJ died in Silverton. "It was where he died and we can't ignore that. It's a lovely little town and a lot of people made us feel very welcome when we went there. But for us it's marred."

The bouquet spelled 'AJ' and was in the green, white and gold of the tricolour.

Although a lot of people had pledged money to the family on the Liveline radio show, the family did not see much of it materialise, they believe, due to an online contribution system not being set up immediately.

"It was just a lapse in the timeframe. What we thought was coming didn't come. We did get some money but not everything that we would have hoped for."

However they did receive financial help from Johnny Fox's pub and the owners of the Café Sol chain where Hanlon's brother Eamon (27) is a manager. Others also helped them meet their expenses.

The family have an asking price of €440,000 for their home in the French village of Fournes which has half an acre of land and a swimming pool.

But aside from trying to raise money, Dorothea said the family is still trying to come to terms with Andrew's death and the upcoming anniversary.

"Personally I am not great. The kids are plodding along but I find they watch me a lot," she said. "They are used to me being a very strong individual within my family and they saw me fall to pieces and they are not used to that."

The family have lost a degree of contact with AJ's sister Melanie Heise in the US, with whom he had been staying at the time of the shooting. "It has torn the family apart," Dorothea said. "I know she feels responsible and she shouldn't; it wasn't her fault. But he was with her so she feels responsible and she is living right in the middle of Silverton."

Dorothea and her husband Justin had to borrow thousands from friends in a bid to get set up in Dublin where they now live with AJ's sisters Danielle (11) and Mary Kate (20).

Although they have paid for the funeral arrangements and transportation bills that were hanging over their heads, they say they desperately need to sell their home in France in order to get on with a new life in Ireland. They also have mounting debts from property tax. "I am eternally grateful to those friends because you never know until something like this hits how important your friends are," she said.

She visited the house in France last week to tidy the garden and carry out some general maintenance work in a bid to help its sale.