close
close

Mother left 'shattered' after her son was stabbed in Cambridge

Family handout Joshua Barr looks at the camera and smiles, his head is turned to the left, he is standing in front of trees and has a very short haircut. His hair is dark.Handout for the family

Joshua Barr's family said he was “caring, strong and a fighter… everyone who met him said he had such a kind soul”

A woman who found out her son had been murdered on Mother's Day said her reality had been “shattered” by knife crime.

Father-of-one Joshua Barr, 31, was stabbed multiple times and found collapsed in Ferrars Way, Cambridge, at around 0500 GMT on Sunday, March 10.

Tyler Marshall, 20, of no fixed abode, and Cameron Stokes, 23, of Highfield Close in South Glamorgan sentenced to life imprisonment for his killing earlier this week.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Where I used to see the world in color, I now only see it in black and white.”

Family handout Joshua Barr, wearing a green and black sweater, smiling at the cameraHandout for the family

Joshua was “a ray of sunshine,” his family said

During the trial at Peterborough Crown Court, jurors heard that Mr Barr was stabbed over a debt owed by his friend.

In a statement released by Cambridgeshire Police, his mother said she did not know why she had not heard from her son on Mothering Sunday.

“Of course when the police arrived I knew he wouldn’t contact me. “Not this Mother’s Day or any other,” she said.

“No more hopes and dreams”

“I was overwhelmed with panic, despair and confused by the news. I couldn't believe it. My reality was shattered,” she added.

“I later learned that Joshua died on a sidewalk and I wasn’t there to comfort him.

“He must have been so scared and scared as he lay there in pain.

“There is nothing Joshua ever did to justify being stabbed so many times. I wake up at night and can't breathe. I am haunted by saturated thoughts of my son’s final moments.”

“My son is gone, no more hopes and dreams, no more Father's Day or Mother's Day. No more Christmas or birthday parties. His brutal murder destroyed so many lives.”

“This is the reality of knife crime and carrying a knife. It's not a game. It's real. Joshua didn’t die, he was murdered with a knife.”

Chief Inspector Oliver Warsop said: “The devastating impact of knife crime and serious violence on victims, their families and the wider community cannot be underestimated.”

Stokes must serve a minimum sentence of 21 years and 132 days before being considered for release from prison, while Marshall was given a minimum sentence of 15 years and 132 days.

You may also like...