“I will never forgive him”: Caroline Willgoose on her son’s killer as anniversary of murder nears
As the first anniversary of Harvey Willgoose’s death approaches, his mother has said she will never forgive the teenager who killed her son.
Harvey, aged 15, was stabbed through the heart during a lunch break at All Saints Catholic High School in February last year.
Mohammed ‘Umar’ Khan, who was also 15 at the time and a classmate, was later detained for life with a minimum term of 16 years after being convicted of murder.
Asked what she would say if she ever came face to face with her son’s killer, Harvey Willgoose’s mother said there was only one question she wanted answered.
Speaking to The Star, Caroline said the pain of losing her son has not eased with time as the first anniversary of his death approaches.
“I can’t believe it’s nearly a year since I last saw him,” she said.
“It’s actually getting worse, not easier, because we’re missing him more.”
She said the past year had been dominated by the murder trial, alongside further personal loss following the death of her father.
“We’ve had the trial, then my dad passing away, and it just doesn’t feel real that it’s been a year,” she said.
“We’re just trying to carry on and make things better in Harvey’s name.”
Caroline said the day Harvey was killed is still vividly etched in her memory.
“It’s printed on me,” she said.
“Every morning I wake up, look at my phone and see messages, and I have to come round to what’s happened all over again.
“You wake up thinking everything’s alright – but it’s not.”
The stabbing came after two other boys had a disagreement and Harvey took one side and Umar took the other.
Caroline also spoke of the distress caused by online misinformation following her son’s death, saying she was left heartbroken by having to defend Harvey’s reputation.
“That lad stood in the dock and said Harvey was his friend,” she said.
“And he was – until that weekend.”
Caroline said even police officers involved in the case struggled to understand why Harvey had been targeted.
“The head detective told me it was the first time in his career that he’d broken down,” she said.
“Teachers said the same thing – why Harvey? He was such a good, lovely kid.”
Despite the pain of the past year, Caroline said she hopes Harvey’s legacy will live on through the work being done in his name, tackling knife crime and improving support for young people.
She is spearheading a campaign for knife arches to be installed in schools and she is also involved in a project where emergency first aid ‘bleed kits’ are being donated to schools.
An online petition calling for ‘urgent action to combat knife crime in schools’s has been signed by more than 50,000 people.
It needs 100,00 signitures to trigger a debate in parliament.
Caroline is also trying to get more people recognising and talking about ‘school avoidance’.
For the 18 months before he died, Harvey struggled to attend school but tragically, on the day he died, he had decided to go.
That day he said to Caroline: “I’m going to school, Mum, are you proud of me?”
She said she was and Harvey replied: “I love you mum. Shut door behind me.”
That was final time she saw her beloved son alive.