Danny had walked his friend to the bus stop after watching the champions league final which was Manchester United V Barcelona 2009 at home. where he was confronted by a gang of youths. I dont know exactly how the fight started because we only have the version of his killers I know he found himself surrounded by 5 youths 3 of which were charged with his manslaughter. Danny went on to save 4 lives after his death by Organ donation.
My Victim impact statement:-
When Danny left home to live some where else, I naturally worried, particularly when he moved into an area where crime was rife and young people were vulnerable. I was worried for him!
So when Danny moved back home, surrounded by the streets he knew and grew up in, I thought he was safe. …………. I was wrong!
To understand the impact of this on me and my family you have to understand a little of who Danny was.
Danny was brought up to show compassion for other people, to imagine other people’s feelings. He was bright and a pleasure to be with, he had many friends, all ages, all walks of life. He was sensitive and caring. Danny and his sister carried me through my darkest days.
At times in his life Danny, like all young men had to struggle with obstacles, He persevered and overcome them one by one.
He had a sense of adventure and he embraced life with all its experiences. He was planning to go back packing. He even bought his walking boots and was breaking them in. He was wearing them the night he was attacked.
He wanted to be a father one day. He wanted to meet the right girl and settle down. We would tell him there is no need to rush, enjoy your life, take your time, and take each day as it comes. We thought he had all the time in the world.
Danny made such an impact on every body who met him. He was loved by so many people. And these people are also struggling to come to terms with their loss.
Grieving for my son will never end and the space he left can never be filled. Life is now divided into 2 half’s, life, before Danny died and life after Danny died I struggle to say the words “died” he didn’t just die, he was “violently killed” although I feel my son was murdered. So I simply say “life before and life after Danny,” because the reality just is to hard to bear.
As On my sons first Christmas we bought a bauble for our Christmas tree that said Danny’s first Christmas and finding that bauble made me remember hopes and dreams his father and I had for our sons future. Christmas came and went. We opened our presents without Danny; we spent our family day without Danny. We tried to carry on as normal as we will have to do every year from now but the reality is, “it will never be normal again.”
When someone asks me how many children do I have? What do I say now?? No mother should have to buy a dress for her child’s funeral. I know to the rest of the world he was a man, I didn’t even realize he was a man till after he was gone .
To me he was a boy,………Danny was my Boy!! His smile will be with me forever, but he will never walk through my door and say “hi ya mum” again.
How do I express the hurt and anger I feel? It is inexpressible.
Sometimes for a split second, I forget that Danny has gone. Then like a bolt of lightning, I have to face the terrible reality all over again.
I know you want to hear how this has affected my life and the lives of other family members – my life has been torn apart. It will never be the same again. My family and I are now serving a life sentence. How do I tell you of the overwhelming grief that affects every ounce of my being? Life is going on around me and I want to scream to the world that “My son is dead, my child is dead, and my boy is dead” But it is futile because nothing will bring him back and nothing will heal the pain.
I am in a constant battle with my emotions; the fear of losing that control is always there. The pain I feel. It is a physical pain and it is all consuming
They took Hayley’s brother, her protector. I ask her how she coping and she won’t say. She just says she is ok but knows she is not. How could she be? I fear that she is trying to be strong for me.
I asked my parents what would you like me to say and my mother Danny’s Grandmother said “just tell them they have taken away our golden boy and our future,”
I have asked all his friends what they would like me to say in this statement and they all said tell them of our great loss and how much we are all hurting and it’s a hurt that will always be with us.
When asked what memories I have of Danny, I remember a beautiful boy and young man then the memories change and I remember Danny running towards me with blood running from his nose covering his face. I remember watching my son take his first steps then falling down laughing then I remember him taking his last steps and him falling down and dying, I remember him hooked up to a machine, I remember bathing him when he was a baby then I remember bathing him for the last time as a dying young man.. I remember kissing him and saying goodbye for the last time. Now every memory is tainted.
Losing Danny is the last thing I think of when I got to bed at night and is also the first thing that I think of when I open my eyes in the morning if I am lucky enough to sleep.
People avoid me, they cross the road rather that talk to me. Those that do talk to me don’t want to bring Danny name up. It is as if Danny’s has become a taboo subject.
There just aren’t words to describe how I feel
Nature didn’t take Danny! A random act of mindless violence did!
I hope the sentence given will reflect that my son was killed unlawfully at the hands of these people and that a low sentence to me and to society indicates that my son’s life was not as important as that of his killers. I am not asking for a life for a life but by giving a low sentence you are telling people that a human life is worth so little.
Their lives will go on. But my son’s life is over. It’s not like playing a computer game that you can switch on again and he gets another life. Its final, my son’s life is over.
My son Danny was robbed of his right to life, as we were robbed of Danny.
