Mother makes heartbreaking and powerful speech about losing son to knife crime at vigil

A mother made a heartbreaking and powerful speech about her lived experience of losing her son to knife crime, at the service and vigil held at All Saints Church last Friday (May 19).

Cheri Curran lost her son Louis-Ryan Menezes on May 25, 2018 – after he suffered a single stab wound to the chest at just 17 years old.

The courageous mother has used her personal experience to campaign against knife crime and she is now a team member at Knife Crime Victim Support in the county.

Cheri’s speech was both moving and heartbreaking in equal measure and reduced many attendees to tears.

Here is what Cheri had to say…

“On January 23, 2001 at Northampton General Hospital, we welcomed our new bundle of joy. Tiny he was, he soon earned his nickname ‘little legs’.

“Louis-Ryan was a shy little boy with the most beautiful, multi-toned almond eyes. He already had the face of an angel.

“Louis-Ryan was loved by everyone. He loved all of his friends, he loved his family, he loved Liverpool Football Club. He especially loved motorbikes, his favourite being KTM. He loved his holidays in Tenerife where he had so many friends.

“Louis-Ryan’s dream was to open his own unit in Tenerife fixing motorbikes. He was well on his way to making his dream a reality, with a number of certificates already achieved and his own experience of fixing bikes. He was more than capable.

“He had done his research, his business plan was amazing. I was so proud – watching him turn from a schoolboy into an amazing young man who had his whole life planned out. I have no doubt that he would have achieved his dream.

“On May 25, 2018, it was a beautiful hot, sunny day. Louis-Ryan had done his chores, he was eager to get out. He’d earned his pocket money. The sun was shining and he was off to watch the Liverpool versus Real Madrid final – the Champions League.

“He’d filled his whole weekend with lots of fun stuff to do. At night, he was sleeping over at his big sister’s.

“I took Louis-Ryan to Kingsthorpe that day with his two little sisters. That afternoon we grabbed some chips, we ate them together. Me and Louis hugged each other.

“I said ‘I love you, son’. He replied ‘I love you, mum’. This moment will remain in my heart until I die.

“It was also captured on the fish and chip shop CCTV, which we now have. Thank you so much to Northamptonshire Police and the owner. Imagine that.

“I watched as he ran off around that corner of Drayton Walk, where I believed he was safe – the worst mistake of my life.

“My handsome, loving, talented, ambitious son never made it to that sleepover with his big sister. He never made it to watch that football match.

“We travelled back home to Rothwell and were settling in for the night when my daughter-in-law burst through the door screaming that Louis had been stabbed. There are no words to describe that feeling, those words have not yet been invented.

“The longest drive of my life, pleading with all my angels not to let it happen. Not to take him. It’s not his time.

“They tried their hardest. We lost him. He’s gone to a better place. A teen with a knife stole our heartbeat, took the air from our lungs and left us with a life sentence of pain and suffering.

“My boy wasn’t the first and he’s certainly not the last. It’s happening too often.

“With the recent heartbreaking events of losing the beautiful Fred and Alfred, we’re again a county in shock and worry. All of our love and prayers are with their family and friends.

“It appears there is a real imbalance of good and bad. Young lives being taken that are full of ambition and love for life are being replaced with teen killers. It’s like a horror film.

“How can we try and minimise these youths thinking that it’s cool or hard to walk with knives and use them without a single thought of consequence? I think we can all agree that music, media and gaming are playing their part in the shaping of the senseless mindset of some of our young.

“I’ve met so many amazing people on this journey with the same objective – to try and stamp out serious violence, child exploitation and knife crime.

“In my ideal world, there would be tougher sentences, they would be carried out in full, and the under 18s would not get so many concessions when they have killed. The sentences do not match the crimes – nowhere near.

“Tougher deterrents, zero tolerance, would it clean the streets quicker? Would it make them think twice? I’d like to hope so in my ideal world.

“I remember when I was a youth there was a youth club on every estate. You could pop along, hang out with friends, do activities. There would be a number of youth workers getting involved, they knew us all by name. They were the glue for us teens, the place to hang out with our pals and enjoy positive guidance that the guardians were giving us. It was a safe place.

“I also remember our local bobby. He was a big man, friendly but firm, and he knew his business – which ones would be naughty, who the cheeky ones were. We didn’t really want to get caught being naughty and we certainly didn’t want to be sent home.

“He had clout. I wonder if these youths would put on their balaclava and grab their knife if they thought he was lurking round the corner and would definitely find out and catch them. Maybe that youth would then decide to go to that youth club, where they would be in a safe, fun, positive setting that could change the destiny of their decisions that night.

“We need more safe places. We need more guardians. We need more local bobbys.

“Back to the amazing people I’ve met on my journey – all of them teaching our young to reach for the stars. We need so many more like them, to let them know we’re going to need astronomers, rocket builders and astronauts to get them there.

“The police, local authorities, anti knife crime organisations and charities are all running campaigns, trying to share information with the public on these deeply saddening issues. From poster campaigns to raising money for vital bleed packs and knife amnesty bins, let’s get behind them.

“We teach our children the green cross code and stranger danger, now it’s time to teach them the dangers of knives and the truth about knife crime. It’s in our educational settings, it’s on our streets – this we know.

“Louis-Ryan couldn’t go and watch football. Fred couldn’t walk home from school. Alfred couldn’t sleep in his uni digs that night.

“My personal message to our youngsters would be to think about your actions, and how they impact you, your future, your dreams and ambitions. It could all be over for you as well if you carry a knife. Would you want your mum to be me?

“I’m saying this because my son isn’t here, so you go chase your dreams, love your life, be safe, put down your knife and save a life.

“There is no pain like losing your child in such a horrific way, or for Louis-Ryan’s siblings to lose him the way they did. I can’t fix this for them, this unbearable pain that they will always feel. Through sharing this heartbreak with you all, I’m joining the movement for change for a brighter, safer county for our young – where the guardians and good guys watch over them.”

After thanking a number of organisations and the public for being there, Cheri finished by saying: “Last but not least, I would like to thank my co-author. You’ve heard his voice as well. He’s my little boy, he’s Louis-Ryan Menezes.”