Karlie was a 'devoted mum', says brother

The brother of a "devoted mum" whose death sparked a murder investigation said she was "genuinely was one of the nicest people" anyone could meet.

Karlie Sone, 28, was declared dead in the early hours of Tuesday, 10 March, after being found unresponsive by police at a property on Russet Road, Ipswich.

Officers were called out at about 01:10 GMT over concerns for her welfare. Paul Stevenson, 39, of Fletcher Road, has been charged with her murder.

Her older brother, Kris Sone, has paid tribute to the mother-of-two, and said she was "a caring person" and her children "were everything for her".

"They were her main driver to get her out of bed in the morning and to go and seize the day; she was the most devoted mum," said the 32-year-old.

"She was always happy and trying to motivate people around her to make better decisions or help them with things that they were going through.

"If she could help, she would. She just always wanted to give and would never hurt anybody – she was genuinely one of the nicest people."

Karlie, who loved music and was hoping to become a nursery practitioner, was one of five siblings, including an older and a younger sister and two brothers.

Kris, part of the Army Cadet Force for nearly 10 years, found out about his sister's death during the early hours of Tuesday.

He said the call "was definitely a shock".

"When you have older family, it's easier in some ways to expect those calls, even when they are unexpected," he said.

"But when it's your 28-year-old sister who you'd literally spoken to a couple of days ago, it is so much more of a shock.

"It just provokes lots of questions and doesn't answer any of them - and we are still in that position where a lot of our questions are not going to be answered for a long time."

Since Karlie's death, floral tributes have been left at the scene and a vigil in her memory has taken place in Landseer Park in Ipswich, during which balloons were released.

A fundraising page to cover the costs of her funeral and to support her two children has also been set up, which has so far received more than £20,000 in donations.

"Obviously, no amount of money will replace what we've lost, but those girls are going to need so much in their life and it will help them to get a fresh start," said Kris.

"It's not going to be as easy for them and there will be triggers and things they remember for years to come, so we have to support them as best we can.

"We just want Karlie to be remembered, and we just want the best life that we can now give to her children."

Last week, Karlie's family also remembered the "amazing, loving mummy", whose death, they said, would leave an "unfillable void".

Jon Parker, the husband of Karlie's stepsister, said the entire family was "supporting each other".

"It's just unimaginable grief, sadness, and shock because you don't prepare for a situation like this and there's nothing you can say or do," he told BBC Suffolk.

"Every member of the family is dealing with it in their own individual way, but I don't think it's really real for anybody at the moment."

He added that Karlie was "such a special person" who "loved her two little girls so much" and was "cherished and loved by a lot of people".

"Her two wonderful little girls were her entire reason for being, she doted on them," he said.

"They've now got a whole life ahead of them, so they need all the support in the world and all the love in the world."

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