Murdered Ryan's gran praises community

Mar 12 2008 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

RYAN Hawkins’ grandmother has spoken publicly for the first time of the family’s struggle to come to terms with his shocking death.

Pauline Gee, 69, told the Examiner they hoped to rebuild their lives now that the four-year-old’s father, Christopher Hawkins, is behind bars for murder.

She paid tribute to the support given by people in Slaithwaite and across Huddersfield in the wake of the tragedy.

It is the first time any of Ryan’s relatives have publicly spoken at length about the shocking crime.

Mrs Gee, of Carr Lane, Slaithwaite, said: “It has been horrendous, you never believe anything like that can happen to you.

“It was a massive shock and as a family you just have to stick together. For me, it has been more distressing than when I lost my husband to cancer.

“Everyone has been amazingly supportive. Now we are hoping to try to get on with our lives.”

Ryan was stabbed to death at Hawkins’ Royd Street home on September 23 last year.

His sister, Donna, 14, was repeatedly stabbed in the same attack but survived.

Mother-of-four Mrs Gee, whose daughter Valerie is mother of Ryan, Donna and their sister Natalie, 16, was having Sunday lunch in Slaithwaite when she heard about what had happened.

She said: “I was at the Wharf (the Wharfside Inn on Carr Lane).

“My nephew came looking for me and told me Donna had been stabbed – he didn’t say anything about Ryan.

“It was only when we got to the hospital that someone came in and told us Ryan had been brought in as well.

“You just go into shock.

“The last time I had seen him was on the Thursday, three days before.

“His dad brought him to Valerie in Slaithwaite because he had an appointment to have his hearing checked.

“He said: ‘Love you grandma’ and gave me a kiss. That was the last thing he said to me.

“The last vision I have of him is him saying to Chris: ‘Bye dad, love you’.”

Hawkins, who said he must have been insane at the time, claimed screaming voices in his head told him to carry out the killing.

But it took a jury at Leeds Crown Court less than three hours to find Hawkins guilty of murder and attempted murder.

He was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison last Wednesday.

Mrs Gee said: “We were all at the trial every day and it was a difficult experience. It was very distressing listening to all the details about what happened.

“We went hoping to get justice for Ryan, and for Natalie and Donna. They were very close – because of how old the girls are, they were like little mothers to him.

“As the week went on we became more confident.

“Donna was incredibly brave to give evidence, and has been brave this whole time.

“We feel better for having got the decision. You don’t get total closure, but it is a little bit of relief.”

She added: “I didn’t really know Chris very well. Before he and Valerie got together, I knew of him, but they kept themselves to themselves a lot and I didn’t have a lot to do with him.

“I didn’t have a lot of affection for him, but you don’t think someone is capable of doing something like that.”

Mrs Gee, who has five other grandchildren, said Ryan had a special place in her heart.

She said: “He was a very happy little boy. He never walked anywhere, he was always running.

“His first word was ‘George,’ my brother’s name. He started calling me George too.

“When he finally got to learn the word ‘grandma,’ when he came to the house he’d shout: ‘Grandma, I’m here.’

“He was very affectionate, always telling you he loved you. And he really enjoyed going to playschool in Slaithwaite.

“All my grandchildren are very special to me, but all my children are girls and because I don’t have any sons, Ryan and my other grandson are really special.”

She said Valerie, Donna and Natalie, who have moved out of their Hill Top home in Slaithwaite, would not return there.

They were recovering slowly and were looking forward to an all-expenses-paid holiday to Disneyland, Florida, this summer, she said.

A massive fundraising effort was organised by people in Slaithwaite to pay for the £5,000 trip.

Mrs Gee said: “Everybody has been very supportive, telling us they have been thinking of us.

“Their prayers and support have given us strength and courage.

“Then there has been the amazing fundraising, not just in Slaithwaite but all down the Colne Valley and in Huddersfield.

“It’s a very tight-knit community, everybody knows everybody and everyone has been so good to us.

“The people at Colne Valley High School, where Donna and Natalie go, and Ryan’s old playschool at the community centre have been brilliant.”

She also paid tribute to the people of Hill Top who helped after the incident, the ambulance and police officers and doctors and nurses in A and E.

And she said the two police liaison officers who had dealt with the family were fantastic.

“The support we have had has been overwhelming,” she added.