Family of murdered mother make emotional appeal for ‘justice for Lucy'

Independent

3 days ago

The family of a mother shot dead in her Liverpool home 20 years ago has made a fresh appeal for information on her murder.
Lucy Hargreaves, 22, was asleep on her sofa when three men burst into her Walton home on 3 August 2005.
They fatally injured her, then set fire to the Lambourne Road property, forcing her partner and two-year-old daughter to escape through an upstairs window.
Two decades later, her family is urging anyone with details to come forward to help to achieve 'justice for Lucy'.
They have also released a previously unshared college photograph of the mother-of-three.
Following Ms Hargreaves' death, 'a number of people were contacted by males using a phone that was stolen, along with a vehicle used in Lucy's murder', the family said.
The people who received the calls could have information which could be 'crucial in achieving justice for Lucy' and her loved ones, they said.
'We appeal directly to them to please come forward. Now is the time.'
Police arrested 21 people as part of their investigation into the murder, but no one has been convicted.
A comprehensive review into Ms Hargreaves' death was launched by Merseyside Police two years ago and remains ongoing.
Howard Rubbery, head of the serious case review unit, said: 'It is now 20 years since Lucy was taken from her family in the most brutal of circumstances.
'After carrying out the killing, the offenders ignored the cries of a toddler upstairs as they poured petrol around the house and set fire to it.
'Their callous and reckless actions could have claimed the lives of two more people that night, had they not escaped the flames by jumping from a window upstairs.'
Merseyside Police are 'as determined as ever' to get justice for Ms Hargreaves, Mr Rubbery said.
Her death 'robbed her family of a loving mother and daughter', he said.
'As with any unsolved murder, time is no barrier to our pursuit of justice for Lucy and we appeal to anyone with any information, no matter how small it may seem, to contact us.'
Ms Hargreaves' family, who said they 'miss her every single day', welcomed a focus on tackling violence against women and girls in recent years.
They praised the families of other victims of gun crime, including the mothers of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt Korbel and 28-year-old Ashley Dale, who were shot in their homes in separate incidents in Liverpool in August 2022.
'The mums of both Ashley Dale and Olivia Pratt Korbel have led a real and powerful community challenge to men of violence.'
The family remembered Ms Hargreaves as 'a strong woman who could have achieved so much had she only been given the opportunity'.
Detectives are appealing for anyone with information about a gold Lexus car, believed to have been dumped shortly after the shooting on Richard Kelly Drive, Clubmoor, by a number of men who then ran in the direction of Normandale Road.
Police previously said they wanted to speak to Kevin Thomas Parle in connection with Ms Hargreaves' murder.
Parle, who was believed to be living abroad, was also wanted in connection with the murder of Liam Kelly, 16, who was shot in the early hours of 19 June 2004 in Dingle, Liverpool.