‘Everything is destroyed’: Mothers of double murder victims deliver emotional statements as 19-year-old jailed for Halifax knife attack
Rashane Douglas, 19, was jailed for a minimum of 28 years
The mothers of two young men stabbed to death outside a nightclub in Halifax have told a court how their worlds have been ‘destroyed’.
Rashane Douglas, 19, from Jade Place in Huddersfield has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 28 years after being found guilty of murdering Joshua Clark, 21, and Haider Shah, 19.
He was also convicted of wounding with intent in relation to the stabbing of a third person, Brandon Coup.
Bradford Crown Court had previously heard how a row had broken out over a woman during a night out in October last year. He had a suspended sentence for possessing a blade.
In an emotional statement read out in court today, Joshua’s mother Rachel Clark described how her son was “not just my world, but everything to me and my family.”
She said she gave birth to Joshua when she was 17 and ‘could not remember what life was like before him’.
“He gave me a purpose and was everything and more I could have wished for,” she said.
“He was not just my son, he was also my best friend. Life was so much fun with Josh in it.
“I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach every time I walk past his bedroom. His dressing gown still hangs on the door, boxes of unopened snacks sit by his bedside.
“Josh had dreams and aspirations and so much potential. He was part of me and I will never get over the impact of losing him.”
Miss Clark is a serving police officer and spoke about how she has been ‘tortured’ with the knowledge of what procedures her son’s body would have been through after his death – saying “my beloved child was reduced to evidence.”
She was due to get married in July and says 2024 was meant to be the happiest year of her life – buying her wedding dress just four days before Joshua was killed.
In a statement read out on behalf of Haider’s mother, Yasmin Shah said: “I constantly question if this is real. I am destroyed, confused, my body aches.
“I do not want to live another day without the handsome young man who lived in my house for 19 years.”
She went on to explain she suffers with a medical condition for which she should take regular medication but said: “Now I do not care. The sooner I die, the sooner I can be with Haider.
“Everything is destroyed.”
Haider’s older sister Mia also delivered an emotional statement, breaking down in tears as she talked about how her seven-year-old daughter constantly asks about her uncle and sleeps with a picture of him on her pillow.
She spoke directly to Douglas in the dock as she said: “You took everything away from my daughter. I feel so helpless watching her cry for her uncle each day.
“She says she wants to go to heaven to be with him.
“All because of you, Rashane.”
In mitigation, the defence argued that Douglas ‘didn’t start it’ – and that he was waiting for a taxi home when he was assaulted.
They added the 19-year-old was ‘immature’ and had learning difficulties.
Another defendant, Yaseen Iqbal, was found guilty of assisting an offender and was sentenced to 12 months in a Young Offenders Institute.