They were two women. They were every woman. They were Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard. They were us. They were our daughters, our granddaughters, our sisters, our nieces, our mums, our friends.
They are gone. They live in our hearts and we shall fight on until no woman ever has to endure violence, rape or murder.
That’s why this column is different. I like a giggle – except, when autumn 2021 has brought such unadulterated horror to our doors, it leaves little choice.
Thankfully, the monster who brutally kidnapped, raped, and strangled 33-year-old Sarah before horrifically burning her body will never see freedom again. Given a rare whole-life sentence, he will die behind bars. The equally vivacious and beautiful Sabina, 28, was bludgeoned and buried in a shallow grave of leaves. Both women were simply walking the well-lit streets of London near their homes. Both had lives bursting with opportunity ahead of them. Both leave devastated families who adored them.
They were bright, shining lights in the darkness of evil who were killed by ‘men’ (I use that term in the loosest possible sense) in coldly premeditated attacks.
Both victims were selected at random, neither known by their attackers. They were simply in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’. It could have been any of us.
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