Mum of teen killed in Aintree 'hasn't accepted' he's gone
The mum of Ellis Cox is pleading for help to find those responsible for his death
Last updated 27th Aug 2024
The mum of a teenager who was killed in Aintree in June says she still hasn't accepted that he's gone.
19-year-old Ellis Cox was shot dead in the Liver Industrial Estate as he on his way home.
Four arrests have been made since - but no-one has been charged in connection with Ellis' death.
Ellis' mum Carolyn said:
"I phoned him at about 9 and then about twenty to ten and I said 'come on love, you've got work tomorrow', and he said 'I'm right by ours mum, I'll be five minutes, will you warm my tea.' So I started warming his tea, but he didn't come back.
"I was just ringing him and then waiting thinking he's at his friends or he's just going to be a bit late, but he never was late and then my brother phoned me to say his friend had called him to say Ellis was hurt.
"I haven't accepted it yet because I think if I had accepted it, I probably wouldn't be able to be sitting here now or even get out of bed in the morning. I know I haven't accepted it because I just keep saying to myself he's just in work.
"He had the same routine every day. He'd always come home from work and then he'd sing in the shower, so the house is very quiet so I just literally tell myself all day he's in work.
"I haven't come to terms with it yet, at all.
Carolyn and the rest of his family have spoken out to appeal to anyone with information about what happened to come forward, so they can get justice.
Carolyn added:
"The people who done this - they're still living their lives and they're still with their parents and their families, but we haven't got Ellis.
"They, without any regard to life, have just taken him from us and just carried on with their lives like they haven't hurt anybody.
"They've taken our baby from us for nothing and just left him and went home and possibly said goodnight to their mum, while I was waiting for Ellis to come home.
Merseyside Police are going through CCTV and pursuing several lines of enquiry, but the lead inspector says there isn't enough information from the public on what happened and why to move forward with any prosecutions at this stage.
It's understood that Ellis joined a new friendship group up to six months before his death, with other people in this group allegedly involved in crime around the Walton area.
DCI McGrath fears that a member of this group, not Ellis, was the planned target of the shooting.
DCI Steve McGrath said:
"Ellis himself has had no involvement in this (criminal activity) and he's never come to the police's attention before this, unfortunately for Ellis. He was definitely in the wrong place, when this happened, with the wrong people. I would appeal directly to those individuals to come forward.
"The family are not happy, really, with this new friendship group and how they've failed to come forward up to now with any valuable information.
"The investigation has identified that there's potentially three to four males involved in this incident and they've been using bikes - potentially electric bikes but certainly motorised books, going along the loop line. That is between the Walton Hall Avenue area and the Rice Lane Walton Vale area.
"I'd directly appeal to anyone who was on the loop line that evening, even earlier in the evening really because there's a potential that these bikes could have been up and down that loop line for some period of time.
"I'm not saying that they were particularly looking for Ellis and his friends, but certainly I believe that a member of that group potentially was the target in relation to this attack and it probably wasn't Ellis.
Merseyside Police has spoken to members of this friendship group, but say they've only provided 'limited information' so far.
DCI McGrath added:
"Also, there's a broader group around this. There's other people who are involved in what's going on.
"I would appeal to anyone who's got knowledge of localised drug dealing in the Rice Lane and Walton Vale areas of Walton to come forward.
"Anybody who's got any information about what's been going on on that stretch of the loopline over the weeks leading up to this murder - you might hold the vital piece of information that we need in order to identify who is responsible for this, so please I would ask you to come forward."
Anyone with information can get in touch with Merseyside Police here or call Crimestoppers anonymously.