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XBOX MURDER: Loving brother too lively to die
IT'S the silence Dale Robertson's family can't bear.
The fun-filled practical joker was always laughing and he played his music loud.
He filled a room with his personality, and now his devastated relatives say their family home feels empty without him.
His death has left a huge gaping hole in their lives which they know will never be filled.
Dale's heartbroken sister Sarah, aged 17, learned of the stabbing attack when a friend rang her from the party to say there had been some trouble and Dale was hurt.
She ran to the house on Rokeby Drive, Parson Cross, just as the ambulance carrying Dale was driving away with its sirens wailing.
Sarah managed to get to hospital just in time to see Dale before he gasped his last few breaths.
Dale's mum Denise Robertson, 49, was also with him as medics battled in vain to save his life. She managed to give him one last kiss on his forehead before his life ebbed away in front of her eyes.
The family say Dale was hugely popular.
His coffin was opened to allow people to pay their last respects - and so many people wanted to see him one last time they were queuing on the street outside the funeral director's, something staff and police had never seen before.
On the day of his funeral his coffin was covered in names and messages from friends who turned the casket into a book of condolence.
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Tributes have also been set up on social networking sites, where friends have shared their memories, spoken of their loss and added photographs and videos of Dale.
Dale's sister Sarah said he was "the life and soul" of everything he did.
As a permanent reminder of her brother she wears a ring identical to one she bought Dale for his birthday, which is believed to have been stolen on the night he was killed.
"We were friends as well as brother and sister," she said. "He was a joker, full of energy, full of fun - too lively to die. Life is too quiet without him."
His older brother said: "He was into the gym and working out and was very acrobatic - he was always doing daft things.
"There was one day when I saw somebody walking over a pelican crossing on his hands and wondered who it was, then I realised it was Dale - that's the kind of person he was, somebody who was always messing about."
He also recalls the time Dale took flowers to a woman he used to do some shopping for - but instead of buying them for her he picked them from her garden.
Dale's mum said she tries to avoid thinking about his death to stop the harrowing memories flooding back. She described him as an ordinary teenager who used to do normal things - cooking meals for his girlfriend, working out, watching DVDs and going to the pub with his friends.
"There was no reason for him to die - it is a waste of life." she said.
The family paid tribute to Dale and spoke of having to endure a nine-week trial which detailed the "horrendous circumstances" of his death.
They said in a statement: "We would like to tell others how proud we are of Dale for the way in which he tried so hard to prevent the vicious attack upon him and also the way he ran for his life only to be overcome by his attackers.
"Dale was a good person, he was not violent, he did not carry a weapon and he did not belong to any gang.
"The hardest part of this trial has been listening to accusations made against Dale which were untrue. Dale's apparent crime was to be in the wrong area at the wrong time and it is our belief his murder could have been prevented.
"We as Dale's family believe each and every person that cowardly struck or kicked Dale as he lay dying in the road must live with the knowledge that they added to his suffering during his last moments.
"We have been robbed of a truly unique brother and son."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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