Mother of Leeds student fatally stabbed calls for greater support for grieving families

The mother of a Leeds student who was fatally stabbed has called for greater support for grieving families.

Danny Castledine, 22, who was studying at Leeds Beckett University, was killed in an unprovoked knife attack while on holiday in Amsterdam on 1st June 2022.

Danny’s mother, Alison Castledine, has spoken out about the devastating impact her son’s death has had on her and her family.

She has appealed for more support to be given to families mourning victims of knife crime, Notts TV reports.

Mrs Castledine attended the National Justice Museum in Nottingham, where she and her daughter were contributing to a “Choices and Consequences” exhibition. Part of the exhibition included family videos and photographs of Danny.

Intended for school children, the event works to prevent future deaths by educating young people on the realities of knife crimes for victims and their families.

People often forget the lasting psychological effects such crimes have on all those who were close to the victims. This is the message Alison Castledine, Danny’s mother, wants to share.

Speaking at the event, Mrs Castledine said: “The support needs to go on for far longer. It’s not a two-minute thing and then we all move on and it’s okay – this goes on for years and years.

“When you lose someone naturally, you grieve and time is a healer. With Danny’s death, time is not a healer because you are always watching.

“We see Danny’s friends and they’ve got girlfriends, and you wonder if Danny would have a girlfriend. His friends are graduating and you wonder what Danny would have got if he had graduated.”

Figures from Action on Armed Violence show an upward trend in knife-related offences across the UK, rising from 46,153 in 2022 to 49,489 in 2023.

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Following Danny’s death, his family have set up the Danny C Foundation Charity, which aims to tackle knife crime though local charities and other organisations.

Amidst the tragedies that fall upon these families, their stories can become a two-minute news grab for news organisations and are often forgotten about.

Mrs Castledine and her daughter Chloe hope these exhibitions will serve as a way to remember the victims and their families, and act as a catalyst to ensure measures are taken to prevent further crimes.

They also hope people remember that behind every attack is a victim, and behind every victim is a family broken apart.

Featured image via YouTube