Five years after the murder of Ipswich teenager Tavis Spencer-Aitkens his heartbroken mother hopes that lessons have been learned from his “senseless” killing.
Since Tavis’s death in 2018 his mum Sharon Box has raised money in his name and has also campaigned against knife crime and highlighted the impact it has on victims’ families.
In a moving interview to mark the fifth anniversary of his death on Friday (June 2) Sharon described her ongoing pain at losing Tavis, who was just 17 when he was “senselessly” murdered by a gang of youths in an Ipswich street.
“As Tav’s mother being without one of my sons, one of my twin boys, has been and is still, life destroying,” said Sharon.
“I don’t live I simply exist. I wake up every morning to my son's ashes in a box on my bed.
“When I go to bed I kiss him, when I wake up I kiss him and I kiss him again when I leave the house for work knowing I have to get on with my day with a broken heart and living with the anger that this should not be my life and my son should not be gone.
“Tavis had the loveliest soul and was such a lovely kind young man raised with manners and love and he would never have taken a person's life the way his was taken.
“He would be 22 this year and should have passed his driving test, had a career and be travelling the world and having fun with his friends.
“But all this was stolen from him for nothing. He was just walking down the road minding his own business that awful day.
“ I never want Tavis to be forgotten and hope that other young people will listen to this story, learn from it, and think about the company they keep.
“I think some have taken on board and learned lessons from his death. I hope so anyway.
“Having to live without your child is the most painful thing that any parent can go through, and many heartbroken parents find it impossible to live without their child.
“ I find having a job, having a focus helps me. I work with a great bunch of people, and I know if I stayed at home all day, every day I would not be here now. The pain would have swallowed me up,” said Sharon.
“I am also blessed with family and friends who hold me up and keep my mental health on a level which is vital for me,” she added.
Since Tavis’s death Sharon, her sister Sinead, niece Dana Godbold and good friend Stacey Read have set up a foundation in his name called “TavsLife”.
“We wanted to give something back to the community that has shown us so much love and support since we lost Tav,” said Sharon.
So far, they have raised £1,000 each for the Essex and Herts flying ambulance service, which tried to save Tavis’s life and the local children’s hospice and hope to hold more events in the future.
Sharon has also worked with the Belucky knife crime foundation which was set up after 41-year-old Dean Stansby, from Trimley St Mary, was stabbed to death in Ancaster Road, Ipswich in 2017.
Sharon has taken part in a podcast with Dean’s brother Paul Stansby about the impact of knife crime on mothers and families.
The podcast can be found on YouTube Paul Stansby podcast “A mothers story part 1 and 2" and a local group called “Brotherhood” has recorded a song in Tavis’s name called “Tavslife” which can also be found on YouTube.
“There is also a documentary made about that awful day that we lost Tavis and how the police caught his murderers. This can be seen on MTV True Life Crime UK S2 Ep 5,” added Sharon.
Tavis was attacked and stabbed 15 times by a group of males in Packard Avenue, Ipswich, on June 2, 2018, and died in hospital shortly afterwards.
Four of those involved were convicted of murder and were given life sentences with minimum tariffs totalling 85 years.
A fifth defendant was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.
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