EXCLUSIVE: Mum of murdered Doncaster man urges people in the city to stop carrying knives

Ryan Theobald was stabbed to death alongside his friend-Janis Kozlovskis-in Doncaster city centre earlier this year

Author: Chris Davis-SmithPublished 14th Nov 2022

With more youngsters getting caught with knives on the streets of South Yorkshire, we're taking a look at the devastating impact it's having across the region.

As part of our Say No To Knives investigation this week-we've obtained figures from South Yorkshire Police which show that almost a thousand people between the age of 10 & 19 were suspected to have been carrying a knife over the last 4 years.

Meanwhile, nearly 250 people have been arrested in Doncaster city centre on suspicion of carrying a knife since 2018-which's more than any other area across South Yorkshire.

Back in January of this year, 20-year-old Ryan Theobald was stabbed to death in Doncaster city centre on a night out, along with 17-year-old Janis Kozlovskis.

Janis also died following the incident.

In an exclusive interview with Ryan's mum-Lisa Theobald-we've been speaking to her about the devastating impact knife crime has had on her life:

"As a disabled woman, Ryan was my main carer. I miss him so much, I really do.

"Ryan helped out with lots of the house duties and all the heavy lifting.

"He'd do anything I asked him to, and now all that responsibility has been left with my youngest daughter.

"When I got told Ryan had been killed, I had to ring him.

"I had my phone in front of me, and I rang him because I just couldn't take it in.

"The phone just rang and rang, and I just lost it.

"I thought it'd get easier as time goes by, but it hasn't done.

"It's been a nightmare; I've been having bad day after bad day.

"I don't want to get out of bed a lot of the time.

"Sometimes, I just feel like I'm a day closer to seeing Ryan at least.

"That gives me some comfort. It's made me feel very depressed at times.

"Ryan was frightened of knives even before he died.

"One time, he came home, and somebody had tried to beat him up and they had a knife on them.

"It caught his hand, but on that occasion, he managed to get away.

"Ever since that moment though, Ryan was fearful of being stabbed.

"People are carrying knives all the time.

"I know Ryan's friends are carrying knives.

"I've told them that I don't want to see them get locked up, and neither would Ryan, but it's all just getting out of hand now."

19-year-old Amrit Jhagra was jailed for life after murdering Ryan and Janis in Doncaster city centre earlier this year.

He'll spend a minimum of 24 years behind bars for fatally stabbing the pair.

Jhagra, formerly of Cedar Road in Doncaster, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court in October.

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