Mothers of two girls who were killed come together in Liverpool
Cheryl Korbel and Lisa Squire met at a summit as part of the Face the Family campaign
Last updated 25th Aug 2023
The mothers of two girls who were killed have come together in Liverpool to share their experiences as part of the Face the Family campaign.
Cheryl Korbel lost her daughter Olivia after she was killed in Dovecot last year - and Lisa Squire's daughter Libby was killed in Hull in 2019.
The man who killed Olivia, Thomas Cashman, refused to appear in court for sentencing - when he would have heard how his horrific crime had affected Olivia's loved ones.
He was sentenced to life behind bars with a minimum term of 42 years.
The man who killed Libby did appear - Pawel Relowicz heard Lisa's victim impact statement before he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.
Lisa said:
"I would have been really upset (if he didn't appear) because it was really empowering to tell him what I wanted to say, even though I don't know if he was listening but everybody else in the court was listening.
"I was able to tell him how much Libby meant to me, the effect on the family, and I really wanted to say to him, and I did say to him, how amazing it is to hear your child say they love you.
"Libby told me that every day - his children will never be able to tell them that they loved him because they were too young. I wanted him to know that - that I had something that he won't get and it was really powerful for me.
"Had he not been there, it would have been almost unbearable"
"At the time, I felt that having seen him get his sentence was good and then afterwards, you always want a bit more. I wanted him to show a bit of emotion or even pretend that he didn't do it, but he didn't. He just sort of took it and went down.
"It was almost a bit of an anti-climax because he just sort of looked, it was very strange, but had he not been there, it would have been almost unbearable.
"That's the only bit of power you have. Your loved one has been taken from you and the person that took them from you is in the same space as you so they should be forced to come up and have the sentence given to them whilst they're in the same space as you and you should be able to give your victim impact statement to them because it does make you feel really powerful.
"Not having that sets you back again."
Cheryl said:
"Doing the (victim) impact statement, it was done over three or four occasions. So it's a long time doing that impact statement and really hard.
"Then to turn up at court and he doesn't turn up.
"My daughter even done hers as well, I never would have thought she'd have got up but she built the courage to get up and do it, but he wasn't there.
"To go through the whole trial process - having been cocky because he thought he was going to get away with it which was annoying as well because as much as we wanted to react to that, we never (did). We stayed calm, dignified - it hurts.
"These offenders need to know the impact it's causing on the victims."
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said:
“Defendants who hide from justice can prolong the suffering of victims and their families which is why we plan to change the law so offenders face up to their actions and victims can see justice being served.”
You can sign the petition here.