The parents of Olly Stephens, a 13-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in January, have opened up about his killing to persuade others of the danger of carrying knives.
Their son was murdered in Bugs Bottom Fields, Reading, by two 14-year-old boys in January after being led there by a girl, also 14.
In an interview with Thames Valley Police, Amanda and Stuart Stephens spoke of the suffering of both their family and the murderers’ families.
“For us this is a life sentence. This will never go away for our family and Olly’s friends. A lot of his friends are very traumatized,” said Stuart.
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He explained how last Christmas, he had shown Olly an article detailing the deaths of 100 people who had lost their lives in 2020 due to knife crime.
“I looked him the eye and I said ‘don’t you be the hundred and first.’ I said ‘you’ve got to stay away from all this’ and he’d done his best.”
At trial, Reading Crown Court previously heard that Olly was convinced to go to the park by a 14-year-old girl, where he was then “ambushed” by the two boys and stabbed to death.
The court heard both of the male attackers had “grievances” with Olly, while the girl is said to have described any violence against him as “karma” in the run-up to his death.
Amanda said Olly would never have gone to Bugs Bottom if he’d thought the boys would be there.
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“I told him if he ever saw those two, run,” said Stuart.
Amanda added: “He would have realised he was set up wouldn’t he and that’s horrible. That’s horrific,” said Amanda.
“The children did what they did, you can’t blame the parents. They’re living through a nightmare as much as we are,” she said.
Stuart said: “It’s not just our family that’s suffering it’s their families as well. They put their families through this.”
Assaults with knives and other sharp objects have led to 885 hospital admissions involving Thames Valley residents since 2011.
Stuart and Amanda said groups of young boys need to talk to eachother about carrying knifes and shame those that do.
“We would tell him over and over again, knives are dangerous, stay away from people with knives,” said Stuart.
“If you carry a knife, it is just as likely to be used against you as you use it.
“If you carry a knife, you could kill someone or you could be killed.”
He said: “Just don’t carry them. Don’t. Don’t even think about it.”
Amanda described how they received an outpouring of love and support from the community when they needed it, and that the couple want to use the momentum to try and help other vulnerable children.
“It’s now the bigger picture of how many kids are there in Reading, nationally, who are living out this kind of gangster life.
“Living in suburbia, parents not knowing - how many kids know that these other kids are doing that and they’re living in fear of those individuals.”
If you know someone who carried a knife, you can contact Thames Valley Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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