Today we look at the tragic hate crime that took the life of Sophie Lancaster.
Sophie Lancaster was born on November 26th 1986 in Lancashire, England. A kind, creative woman who had her whole life ahead of her, she was on a gap year and planning to attend Accrington and Rossendale College to do an English degree. Sophie had been dating Rob Maltby, a 21-year-old art student from Manchester for three years after being introduced by a friend two years earlier where they formed a deep bond, they lived together and often talked about their future. The couple shared a love for the Alternative Subculture and dressed in what some described as goth, their family described the couple as “...intelligent, sensitive kids. They're not the sort of people to get in trouble, but they have had problems in the past because they stand out.” Due to their appearance, they faced what many alternative people get, abuse and stares which can sometimes turn violent.
It was on the 11th August 2007 at nearly midnight that Sophie and Rob were returning home and stopped at a petrol station for cigarettes and passed a group of teenagers at the entrance of Stubbylee Park, Bacup. According to witnesses the couple were engaged in friendly conversation with the teenagers as they were fascinated with their appearance. Everything was friendly and apparently one of the teenagers even asked for a photo with Sophie to which she agreed, this photo has never been recovered.
At this point Sophie, Rob and the teenagers have reached the skate park area. Rob afterwards said he remembered feeling anxious after following the group, this is the last thing he remembers of the night. Sophie initially handed out cigarettes to the group to placate them and then suddenly one of the teenagers shouted out “let’s bang him”, the situation turns violent with one attacking Rob with a flying kick to the head and a viscous attack happens knocking him unconscious, frightened and wanting to protect her boyfriend, Sophie bravely tried to shield her boyfriend from the unprovoked attack, she cradled his head in her lap and pleaded with their laughing attackers to stop but they then turned on her, kicking her head like it was a football. The teenagers had drunk at least four pints of strong cider, and downed shots of Schnapps.
A 15-year-old witness described what she saw to police as the group attacked Sophie as “They were running over and just kicking her in the head and jumping up and down on her head”. One of the witnesses used her phone to call for help hysterically stating “We need... we need an ambulance at Bacup Park, this mosher has just been banged because he’s a mosher”. Mosher for those unaware is a word, usually used in an unkind way, to describe typically a goth.
After the teenagers had finally finished their brutal attack witnesses stated that the group celebrated their attack, telling friends that “they had done summat good” and claiming “There’s two moshers nearly dead up Bacup Park – you wanna see them – they're a right mess”. The group had apparently attacked another young boy close to the same park, but they walked free with just community service orders not long before the attack on Sophie and Rob. When emergency services eventually got to the scene after getting lost initially, they were confronted with a grim scene, Rob and Sophie’s injuries were so severe and their faces so swollen that they couldn’t tell which one was female and which was male and they were covered with blood. The couple were rushed to Rochdale Infirmary, Rob’s injuries left him in a coma and with internal bleeding, he gradually recovered but had lost his memory leading up and during the attack. The savage beating left both with marks from the trainers of their assailants on their faces. Sophie’s condition was worse than Rob’s, she was in a deep coma and on life support and had to be moved to Fairfield General Hospital in Bury and then to the Neurology Unit at Salford Royal Hospital.
Of course, after the attack Sophie’s mother, Sylvia was informed and rushed to her daughter's side. With each grim update on her daughter's condition Sylvia thought that while a difficult path would be ahead with not only the physical effects of the attack but of the mental ones as well, Sophie would recover. Sadly, it became clear that Sophie would never regain consciousness and was essentially brain dead. Rob was informed on Sophie’s condition and was able to say goodbye with Sylvia and Sophie’s life support was turned off on the 24th August 2007. Sophie was only 20 years old.
In an interview near the 10th anniversary of the attack Rob shared his memories of that night and shared his frustration of the medias focus on their goth appearance that felt like victim blaming and not the bigger issue of young people taking part in violent acts. He revealed that one of the boys sent him a letter apologising but Rob found the letter to be a hollow act of someone trying to get a shorter sentence. Rob revealed that the couple were not wearing anything that could be classed as outlandish on the night and only their piercings and Sophie’s braided hair set them apart. Rob has now fully recovered and works as an illustrator.
Lancashire police arrested five people in relation to the attack and their investigation showed that there were apparently up to 15 people in the park that night that either witnessed or participated in the attack. The reason behind the sickening attack was simply because of their appearance, for being “goth”. Local residents said that Bacup Park was often used by drunken, violent teenagers and had asked for the council to do something about it before the attack and after Rossendale Borough Council said that park rangers would be too expensive.
The five teenage boys were originally arrested for Grievous Bodily Harm but after Sophie’s death they were charged with murder. Originally the five plead not guilty on both charges of GBH and murder but at the start of the trial on the 10th March 2008, all five plead guilty to the charge of Grievous Bodily Harm with intent on Rob. The main culprits of the attack were Ryan Herbert (16) and Brendan Harris (15), Herbert plead guilty to murder while Harris maintained his not guilty pledge while the murder charges against the three others, brothers Joseph (17) and Danny Hulme (16) and Daniel Mallett (17) were dropped. The trail concluded on the 27th March 2008, Harris was found guilty of murder, Harris apparently joked and laughed with his mother during interrogation and hasn’t shown any remorse. Herbert was also found guilty of murder, they both were jailed for life, the judge in his closing statement said “This was a terrible case which has shocked and outraged all who have heard about it. At least wild animals, when they hunt in packs, have a legitimate reason for doing so, to obtain food. You have none and your behaviour on that night degrades humanity”. He also stated the case was a hate crime based solely on Sophie and Rob’s alternative appearance and that what made the case worse was that the attack started off as a source of amusement for the culprits. The Hulme brothers and Mallett were jailed for five years and ten months for the brothers and four years and four months for Mallett for their parts in the attacks. Outside the court Sophie’s brother Adam stated “Although the sentences seem fitting and appropriate, no sentence is long enough to compensate for the loss of Sophie.” and her mother Sylvia added that “Justice can never be done because it will never bring her back.”
All the defendants appealed their sentences, only Herbert succeeded in getting his minimum term of sixteen years and three months to fifteen years and six months. Harris has had time added onto his sentence after assaulting a nurse at the psychiatric unit he was admitted to after his diagnosis of Paranoid Schizophrenia. The Hulme brothers and Mallett have been released from prison.
Sylvia Lancaster started a charity to honour her daughter called S.O.P.H.I.E. (Stamp Out Prejudice Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere) the charity focuses on creating respect and understanding of subcultures in our communities. The foundation also works with politicians and police to protect people in subcultures by law. In 2013 Greater Manchester Police became the first to monitor and record hate crimes against people from alternative subcultures not unlike homophobic and racist attacks are, several others have followed. For all her hard work Sylvia was awarded an OBE for her efforts. An outpouring of love came from the alternative community with many paying tribute to Sophie and even music festival Bloodstock naming a stage after her. There have been many books and adaptions of Sophie’s story in the hopes that maybe the alternative community will never have to suffer such a tragic loss again. Sylvia Lancaster passed away suddenly on 12 April 2022, the Foundation vowed to carry on Sylvia and Sophie's legacy and continue to fight for tolerance and justice.
If you would like to know more about the amazing work of Sylvia and the foundation then please visit their website:
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