Dec 6, 20229 min read

WORDS FAIL ME

Updated: Dec 7, 2022

*WORDS FAIL ME*

To Angela and her family our deepest condolences...

SHELDON LEWCOCK R.I.P.

I have permission from SHELDON LEWCOCK's Mother who has shared her deepest feelings about 'HOW' 'SHELDON' passed.

Angela shares the loss of living without her 19-YEAR-OLD SON'. of her child has affected her and her family.

ANGELA IS A MOTHER AND SO AM I...

IN ONE WORD I would ask 'YOU' to express 'YOUR' FEELINGS'...IN JUST ONE WORD'.... AFTER READING ANGELA'S WORDS BELOW...

Right now, this young woman needs to 'MAKE SENSE' OF THIS WHOLE SITUATION!

YOU MAY SAY WHY ONE WORD? ITS BECAUSE IN ONE WORD THAT'S ALL-IT TAKES!!

It grieves my heart to share a post such as this... But by the grace of the Almighty, it has to make sense...

Please leave one word...

Yvonne YEW

Chief-as-in-Editor

IN ANGELA'S WORDS

PLEASE SHARE(PUBLIC NOT FRIENDS)

LETS GET Sheldon Lewcock MUMS VOICE HEARD !!!!! JUSTICE FOR SHELDON

A Mother’s Voice

On Thursday 4th August 2022 just after 6pm, I received a phone call from my son Sheldon that would shatter my heart and change my life forever.

Sheldon was calling out for me saying “Mum,” repeatedly, his voice was different, and he sounded scared. The call then ended. I felt my heart sink, and at this moment I knew something was wrong. About 5 to 10 seconds later my phone rang again and it was a FaceTime call. Sheldon was covered in blood and had deep cuts on both sides of his face. Sheldon was calling out for me repeatedly. I could see that his jaw was snapped as it was hanging down. I remember trying not to focus on that and remember focusing on his beautiful curly black hair blowing in the wind. Sheldon began saying what sounded like “Bryan” a few times, but he could not speak properly because of his jaw.

I ran out of my house and started to run around the estate with my phone in my hand, calling out to him and asking him where he was. I was telling him “Mummy’s coming baby.” I was frantic and could not find him. A man then came on the phone and told me that I needed to get to Pierces Hill, and he told me that my son had been hit by a van. I asked the man if the van had stopped and he said, “no they carried on driving.” I called my niece, and she came to pick me up and take me there.

When I arrived, the road had been blocked off and there were police everywhere. I could see my son’s bike quarter of the way down the hill and there were pieces of his bike scattered everywhere. I looked down and saw my son Sheldon laid on the floor at the bottom of the hill by the tree. There were paramedics around him trying to attend to him. Sheldon’s friends were there as well as lots of bystanders who were witnesses to what had happened.

I sat with my son holding his hand, telling him that “Mummy is here” and reassuring him that he was going to be okay. I could barely bring myself to look at him because he did not look like my boy. I was asked by TVP officers if I had heard of the driver of the van, I told them that I had not. Everyone at the scene knew who had done this to my poor boy. I was at the scene for 2 hours while the paramedics worked on my son, whilst waiting for the air ambulance.

A young boy told me that he had seen what had happened, and had attempted to chase the van, he said he had taken pictures on his phone. Another lady told me that my son was behind her on his bike, then she could not see him! She told me that he then went flying over the bonnet of her car. There were loads of people at the scene that were witnesses to what had happened.

When Sheldon was being air lifted in the stretcher, I remember the police being huddled together over the other side of the road and they looked like they were whispering. They then came over and arrested one of my son’s friends at the scene. I found this very unprofessional and felt that this was not the right time, when he was comforting his friend that had just been hit and was in a bad state.

My son was airlifted to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. My son’s jaw had been completely snapped off on both sides, legs and pelvis shattered, broken arm, collar bone snapped and cuts and wounds to his face. Sheldon was responsive for a short while after arriving at the Hospital but was soon put in an induced coma.

We were given a password to visit the hospital as this was an attempted murder investigation and sometimes Sheldon would have armed police beside him throughout the night. The password given to us by Thames Valley Police was ‘BANANA’! I did not really think about this at the time, but upon reflection this could be seen as racist. Of all the words in the world to be chosen, Thames Valley Police chose this password for my ‘black son.’ Absolutely disgusting.

On Tuesday, the 9th of August 2022 five days after the incident my son had complications with the brain, which caused him to sadly pass away at the early age of 19. Thames Valley Police launched a murder investigation, and this was published in the national papers.

After one week of Sheldon's passing, liaison officers came to my home to give me information about evidence that they were building up. This was ring doorbell footage, witness statements and video footage from Thames Valley Police officers body cameras.

A week or so later I received a call informing me that the murder investigation had been dropped and it was concluded that this would now be recorded as a road traffic collision/accident. I could not believe what my ears were hearing, how could my precious boy be killed in such a tragic way, and no one was going to be held accountable for his murder. I started to think about the last words that my beautiful Sheldon said to me, going over and over them in my mind. He kept saying “Bryan Bryan.” But now when I think back, I believe he was telling me the name of the driver, as the two names sound similar and because of his snapped jaw he was unable to pronounce this properly.

I do not understand how an initially the incident was recorded as attempted murder, then escalated to a murder investigation and then suddenly became a road traffic collision/accident. In my mind none of this makes any sense, as I was informed there was lots of evidence for the case and suddenly there is nothing. I need someone to make it make sense.

Family liaison officers are supposed to support grieving families when they lose a loved one. I have had to find myself ringing to speak to the police twice a week for updates, as no further contact from the liaison officer has been made to myself. During the worst time of my life, Thames Valley Police officers came to my home a week or so after me losing my son and interrogated me asking about the medication my son takes amongst other things it felt to me that they were treating my son as a suspect rather than a victim of murder. Watching my Facebook account, calling me to remove posts off my page, rather than watching the person that murdered my son, who is free to post whatever he likes.

I need to understand how somebody can hit somebody at full speed, shattering their whole body. My son was a heavy set young man. His body was lifted and thrown through the air causing horrific injuries to him, and later resulting in him losing his life. The driver of the van fled the scene, now if this were an accident why would he not remain at the scene. The driver then fled to Wales and was picked up by Thames Valley Police the next day. When questioned the driver said, “no comment” and was released without any bail conditions or restrictions put in place.

The driver was staying on my estate in the house of a young woman. He was driving around the estate taunting my family, not caring about what he had done or for the suffering my family are now going through due to his actions. The girl has since been moved to a safe house for her protection, I believe. Yet me, the grieving mother and his family were given no offer of help to move away to try and build a new life because being here has too many memories that would haunt us forever.

Instead of being able to grieve I have had to gather evidence to present to the police so that the case for my son remains open. Thames Valley Police were given a recorded confession by the passenger in the van with the driver at the time of the incident, by Sheldon’s Dad. In this recording it stated that they had been told the location where my son and his friends were, and that they had made their way to look for them but only to scare one of the young boys that was present. The passenger of the vehicle is now denying confessing to this, but when this was played for the CPS (Sally) said

immediately that this was the passengers voice on the recording. Thames Valley Police have said that the passenger would have to come into the station themselves and give this confession face to face, and that this recording would not class as evidence.

This feels to me that something is being covered up, because even if this were an accident which I know it is not. Death by dangerous driving is a thing, and for these boys to be out here living their best lives, while my son is dead is beyond me.

My son had only just turned 19 years old; he had his whole life ahead of him. He meant the world to so many people and this injustice affects more than just my family, it affects the community too. There is outrage that nothing is being done and that my son is not being spoken about!

I am stuck on the day my son was hit. I see him all the time, and I am haunted now by the image of his face on that FaceTime call, where he was almost unrecognisable. That image will stay with me for the rest of my life. My son’s brain was removed from his head, without any consent from me, his mother. It has been just over 3 months now, and I am unable to lay my baby boy to rest. I have no answers, just unanswered questions. I am disgusted by how I have been treated, by a service that is supposed to ‘serve and protect’ the people. I feel truly let down by the justice system, as I feel that there is enough evidence and known information to arrest the perpetrators and charge them with the death of my son.

I can't face getting up in the mornings, all I do is cry. My children see me crying day and night, while they are longing to be comforted and held by their mother, because they too, are grieving the loss of their brother. I see his face when I wake up and when I go to sleep. He is there in my dreams. I've lost weight because I can not bring myself to eat. I have been hospitalised due to being run down and not eating.

I sit here everyday thinking that he is going to come through the front door, when in reality I am hoping for the impossible, as I will never get to see my gorgeous boy again in this life. Some days I don't even want to wake up and I pray for this nightmare to be over, for it not to be real! I long to see his face, his smile, to hear his laugh. I miss running my fingers through his hair, and running around after him catering to his needs. I will never overcome the loss of my son. 'No Mother' should have to go through this and 'No Mother' should outlive their children, this is not the way it is supposed to be.

I am Sheldon’s mother, and I was meant to protect him, and I could not. I must live with that for the rest of my life. The days that I cannot even face getting out of bed because the pain hurts so much. The tears that fall endlessly, seeing the broken hearts of his siblings (my children) and wider family. Knowing that I will never see his beautiful face again kills me inside, my heart left when he died. With every breath in my body, I will make sure that my son did not die in vain, and that justice will be served. I love you my darling boy, see you soon.

I would not wish this pain and suffering on another. Time will not heal my pain or the pain of my children, and those that loved and cared for Sheldon. All we pray for is that justice is served in his name, so that we can have some kind of peace, if that is at all possible. — with Sheldon Lewcock.