DANIEL Grainger was just five when his mother was murdered, and he can remember very little about her.
DANIEL Grainger was just five when his mother was murdered, and he can remember very little about her.
But now, 11 years later, his determination to find her killers has led to two arrests.
A website he set up two months ago, whokilledmymum.com, is believed to have played a part in the development in the investigation of the unsolved crime.
The website, containing background about the case and family photos, has been visited by 200,000 people.
Daniel’s mother, Patricia, was 25 when she was sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed. Her body, hidden under an old mattress, was dumped in a brook near her home in Parson Cross, Sheffield.
Yesterday, South Yorkshire police revealed they were questioning two men, aged 51 and 59, over her death.
Daniel, a college student, was encouraged by the success of “cold case” inquiries to believe that advances in DNA profiling meant the killers could be brought to justice.
His website urges visitors to give information to police and allows people to email leads.
He said yesterday: “I’m pleased that there has been an important development in the investigation, because nothing seems to have happened for the last 11 years.
“The police have told me they have arrested two men, but I don’t know much more than that because it is in its early stages,” he said.
“I think the website has played a big part in providing important information to help the police. There have been a lot of messages of support but also information that has been passed on to the police.”
Daniel can still vividly recall the day he was told the devastating news of his mother’s death.
“I remember crying, seeing the police everywhere on the street, and seeing her photo in the paper,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of life I would have had with her.
“I was robbed of the chance of finding out and really getting to know her.”
The 16-year-old said that though his mother, who was single, had a low mental age she was a “lovely woman who would not hurt a fly”.
Speaking at the launch of his website in August, he said: “I’m hoping someone out there will come forward to help put my mum’s killer away, to let her rest in peace and to allow myself and my family to try to continue life the best we can.”
To help jog people’s memories, Daniel put on the site an aerial picture of the wooded spot where his mother’s body was found. He has also published online links to dozens of newspaper articles dating to the time of her murder.
And he posted a personal message to the murderer: “Although for the last 10 years she’s not been there, she has been there in spirit and I know she wants you charged with her murder.
“She’s spoken to me in my dreams and I remember her in my memories. But I hope you have lived a worse life than me. I haven’t had a bad life, but without a mum it’s bad enough, not easy either.
“If it takes me until I die, I’ll find you. All I have for you is hate. Even if you don’t pay for what you did in this life you will in the next . . . I promise.”
– Daily Mail
Originally published as Net cast for mum’s killers
Original Source: Australia’s news site news.com.au