Families of Manchester Arena attack victims speak of loss and anger as plotter Hashem Abedi awaits sentencing

At the Old Bailey on Wednesday, relatives of those who died in the bombing delivered emotional tributes to their loved ones and described the impact on their lives
The 22 victims of the attack
Greater Manchester Police handout photos

The families of Manchester Arena bombing victims today tearfully described their lasting feelings of loss, anger and devastation, as one of the masterminds of the attack faces his sentencing hearing.

Twenty two people died when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade explosive device filled with shrapnel in the foyer of the arena, just as crowds streamed to the exits after an Ariana Grande concert.

Abedi, 22, died in the blast but his brother Hashem was left behind to face justice, and is now facing a life prison sentence for the 22 murders and the attempted murder of hundreds of concertgoers.

At his Old Bailey sentencing hearing today, relatives of those who died in the bombing delivered emotional tributes to their loved ones and described the impact on their lives.

Lisa Rutherford, whose 17-year-old daughter Chloe died in the bombing, said her heart “snapped” when she heard news of the attack and she sobbed while telling the court today: “We are destroyed.”

She said Chloe, who attended the concert with her boyfriend Liam Curry, had got the tickets as a Christmas gift and “idolised” Ariana Grande.

Mrs Rutherford said Chloe’s family have been robbed of the chance to plan her wedding and share her major life events, saying it is “just unbearable”.

“This has all been taken away from us, and somehow we are expected to get though life without her, without our baby girl”, she said. “But it just feels impossible.”

She added that Chloe’s grandparents saw her as an “absolute ray of sunshine” and “now their lives don’t have any meaning without her”.

Caroline Curry held up a photo of her son Liam, 19, and directed some of her words towards Abedi, despite him being absent from the dock.

“You took from me something more precious than gold, a beautiful boy, inside and out”, she said.

“I want you to look at Liam and remember the beautiful boy that was snatched away. Your actions have caused this heartbreak. I just feel cheated. You took his future, my future, my family’s future.

“All we have now is heartbreak and dreams of what if.”

Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett died in the bombing, said the 29-year-old Coronation Street superfan and social media star’s death has “left a massive hole”

“Everything has changed for everyone who had the pleasure of being a part of Martyn’s short but wonderful journey”, she said, revealing she now cannot sleep each night before 10.31pm, the time the bomb went off.

Figen Murray said the death of her son Martyn Hett in the bombing had "left a massive hole" 
PA

“I can’t reconcile as a mother that I was fast asleep as my son lay dead on the floor. I’m still a bit ashamed of that and I will always live with that shame.”

Claire Booth, whose sister Kelly Brewster died in the bombing, broke down in tears as she described being separated from her sibling when the bomb went off.

“I simply felt helpless that I couldn’t be with her and she was alone on the cold floor. This haunts me even now”, she told the court.

She said their family had been “robbed of welcoming Kelly’s children into the world”, adding: “We will never see her grow old.”

She said their family has been “thrown into a world of chaos, involving terrorism and criminality, which is a million miles away from everything which we knew. We would not wish that on our worst enemy.”

“I can’t go anywhere in public on my own, even if it’s to the shop. Sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my own home”, she added.

Hashem Abedi
PA

The Manchester-born Abedi brothers plotted the ISIS-inspired terror attack together, collecting chemicals and other materials for the bomb and using a series of properties and vehicles to make the preparations.

Hashem Abedi had travelled to Libya at the time of the attack, on May 22, 2017, but was linked to the bombing by detectives and was in March convicted by a jury of murder, attempted murder, and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.

At the start of today’s proceedings, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker revealed that Abedi is in the cells at the Old Bailey today, having been brought from HMP Belmarsh, but he has refused to come into court for the sentencing hearing.

“My understanding is that, having been brought to this building, Hashem Abedi has refused to come into the courtroom”, he said.

“The court has not legal right to direct a prison officer or indeed a governor to use force to compel a prisoner to attend court.”

The judge also said he has no power to pass a whole life prison term on Abedi, as he was under the age of 21 at the time of the bombing and Parliament has set an age limit for these kind of sentences. Abedi’s brother, who was 22, would have faced a whole life term if he had not died in the attack.

The final sentence is due to be passed by the judge tomorrow.