Family of murdered man give knife crime school talks in South West

The sister of a man stabbed to death in Cornwall in 2023 speaks to schoolchildren as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the impact of knife crime

BBC A woman in a white T-shirt stands in front of 10th grade students in a school corridor. Behind him is a photo of his brother, who was stabbed to death. — The sister of a man stabbed to death in Cornwall in 2023 speaks to schoolchildren as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the impact of knife crime

Family members of a man stabbed to death outside a nightclub during a night out are visiting schools across the South West to highlight the impact of knife crime.

Michael Riddiough-Allen, 32, was killed when he tried to break up a fight outside Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin in April 2023.

His sister, Becky Dustan, 36, recently visited Wadebridge School to speak to students.

“What will make the biggest difference in the future is our young people saying ‘no to knives’,” he said.

Many slides are shown in the hour-long presentation. This is a photo of Michael Riddiough-Allen, who was stabbed to death in 2023.

MIKES TRUST A slide from a presentation on knife crime featuring a photograph of Michael Riddiough-Allen, who was stabbed to death in 2023. Next to the picture was a quote from her sister, Becky Dustan: "One stab wound, that was all. And it took everything". — Many slides are shown in the hour-long presentation. This is a photo of Michael Riddiough-Allen, who was stabbed to death in 2023.

‘A stab wound took my brother from me’

There was no shuffling, no mumbling, no lapse in concentration as Miss Dustan described how Saturday night had gone wrong.

“My brother had a stab wound in his abdomen,” he said to the group of 10th grade students.

“He hit two arteries in the stomach and suffered internal bleeding within three minutes of receiving the wound.”

There was an audible sadness in his voice as he continued.

“A stab wound. It was big, bigger than me. A stab wound took me, my brother away from me.”

Ms Dustan told the children, aged 14 to 15, about the man who “chose to carry a knife that night”.

Jake Hill, who was 24 at the time of the stabbing, was sentenced to prison. minimum 28 years He was found guilty of murder and sent to prison.

“He will not be released until he is 53 at the earliest, his son will be 29. Because of the choice he made that night, he will have missed his son’s entire childhood,” he said.

He also told students about his compassion for Jake Hill’s family, whom he described as “kind, caring and lovely people.”

Students said MIKES GUVEN presentation was “powerful” and thought-provoking

Jenny, 14, described how closely she and her classmates listened to him.

“Normally there would be some chatter in class, but everyone really listened to what he was saying and his feelings,” she said.

Connie, 14, said Miss Dustan was “really nice.”

“He presented this in a powerful way and showed us that knife crime is happening.”

Helen Pearson, Relationships, Sex and Health Education teacher at Wadebridge School, said the empathy some students showed towards Becky Dustan brought a “tear” to her eye.

A woman in a pink jacket stands in front of the school building. — Helen Pearson, Relationships, Sex and Health Education teacher at Wadebridge School, said the empathy some students showed towards Becky Dustan brought a “tear” to her eye.

Some of the students were visibly moved by what they heard, and Relationships, Sex and Health Education teacher Helen Pearson said she had heard the speech several times as it was given to different classes and found it emotional.

“What brought tears to my eyes was when a student went up to Becky afterwards and said ‘can I hug you?’ “This empathy really suffocated me,” he said.

“Knife crime is certainly not an issue that concerns us at this school, but we want our children to be aware of these issues and be aware of the consequences,” Ms Pearson added.

Ms. Dustan said the feedback from students gave her hope that her work was valuable.