00:01My name is Astrid Wood and I'm Olivia's mother.
00:06I speak on behalf of Olivia's three sisters, their husbands and partners.
00:12Her four young nieces and nephews and our wider, loving, extended family.
00:19Olivia was my sunshine, she was my whole heart.
00:23Olivia was kind, Olivia was reliable.
00:27Olivia was always there to help, no matter what.
00:32Olivia could disarm you with her wit, her beauty, her winning smile.
00:39Olivia had a laugh you could hear from anywhere in the house.
00:44Olivia was the glue that held our family together.
00:48Olivia was my girl, I gave life to her and no person on this earth
00:55was allowed to take that away.
00:58The details of the night of her death are too hard to bear.
01:03Being at her bedside in hospital and watching my baby decline was incomprehensibly horrendous.
01:11When she passed away, our world collapsed.
01:16No parent should ever have to go through this, no family.
01:23Her life, her future has been stolen from her, from us by truly vile men.
01:30And I've said that already I am so sorry.
01:31Even the truth is that she is a blind man.
01:32Because it is a blind man.
01:33A liar, a manipulator, a twisted person, who is a blind man who is a blind man.
01:34A liar, a manipulator, a twisted person who is a blind man who has been a blind man.
01:37a twisted person who has a blind man who has a blind man who has a blind man who has been
01:43tortured.
01:44Her life, her future has been stolen from us by truly vile men.
01:47has been stolen from us
01:55by a truly wild man.
01:57And I said that already, I'm so sorry.
02:00As this trial has unfolded,
02:02more and more harrowing facts about this man
02:06have been uncovered,
02:08the patterns of his abuse
02:10and the calculated nature of his crimes exposed.
02:14We know she wanted to leave him,
02:17and he did not allow it.
02:19Owing to his cowardice,
02:21his inability to tell the truth
02:25or feel remorse,
02:27we have had to painstakingly
02:30piece together what happened that night.
02:33The trauma of this process has been devastating.
02:37During the last month,
02:39I have felt my soul slipping towards a distressing darkness,
02:43one that I could have never imagined before.
02:47It has been deeply disturbing to me
02:50and for everybody involved.
02:52We are grateful to the jury
02:55for understanding so clearly
02:57the extent of this man's crimes.
03:00We are grateful to the judge
03:02for imposing the harshest possible punishment.
03:05Olivia is a guardian angel.
03:08She has been the woman
03:10to stop this man in his tracks.
03:13He cannot hurt anyone anymore.
03:18Victims of domestic abuse
03:21are sometimes too ashamed, too frightened
03:24to tell anyone about the torture
03:26they are going through.
03:28We beg the media to be proactive.
03:31We beg the public that if they hear,
03:34see or feel anything unusual,
03:36any red flags,
03:38notice anything off in a loved one or friend,
03:41to take as much action as possible,
03:44please help wherever you can.
03:47Unbeknown to Olivia,
03:49this man's sadistic behaviour
03:50had been reported to police.
03:52We must also fight for better laws
03:54to denounce repeated and previously flagged offenders
03:58so that the police can act earlier
04:00and save lives.
04:02Olivia was a devoted daughter,
04:04a cherished sister,
04:05a fierce friend.
04:07She had such a bright future ahead of her,
04:11a promising career,
04:12everything to go for.
04:14Her death is so cruel and it hurts so much.
04:17Nothing will ever be the same
04:19as innocent, as loving,
04:21as good, as happy.
04:23We will live on in pride and faith
04:27that love and goodness
04:29will overcome the evil inflicted by this man.
04:33Olivia is anchored deeply in our hearts
04:36and she will be protected there
04:38for the rest of our lives.
04:44Thank you very much.
Comments