Murdered student's mother calls for life sentences

Jasmine LoweIn Bridlington
News imageJasmine Lowe/BBC A picture of Lisa Squire. She has short blond hair and wears glasses and a black top. She is standing in an empty room and looking into the camera.Jasmine Lowe/BBC
Lisa Squire was speaking at a White Ribbon Campaign event in Bridlington

The mother of a murdered Hull student has called for whole life sentences for convicted killers.

Libby Squire, 21, originally from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, was raped and murdered by Pawel Relowicz in January 2019. Her body was recovered weeks later from the Humber Estuary.

Relowicz, 26, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years at Sheffield Crown Court in 2021.

Her mother, Lisa Squire, is campaigning for a change in the law so that "anybody sentenced for murder spends the rest of their life in prison".

Mrs Squire, was speaking at an event at Bridlington Spa as part of the White Ribbon Campaign, which aims to encourage action to prevent violence against women and girls.

She told the BBC that convicted murderers "shouldn't be out on the streets".

"He was 24 when he killed her," she said.

"So, he's going to be eligible for parole at 51 and that's not a life sentence.

"We're the ones with a life sentence, because we don't have her."

News imageSquire family Family picture of Libby Squire. She has long dark hair and is wearing a white jumper and coatSquire family
Student Libby Squire was murdered in January 2019

Mrs Squire also urged the public to stop and call the police if they see people in situations when they "feel that something isn't right".

"Just the simple act of being an active bystander, or an upstander even, is much better than just walking on by," she said.

Listen to highlights fromHull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look Northor tell us about a story you think we should be coveringhere.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices