Take a moment to remember Ross Andrew Parker. He lived in Millfield, a small suburb of Peterborough in England, and was only 17 years old when, just like Kriss Donald, his life was brutally taken from us in a horrific racially-motivated crime.
Ross was one of two children - both came from a stable home. His mother was a waitress and his father ran an auto bodyshop. Ross loved playing football, and had studied business. His ambition was to become a police officer when he was 18. He was only 5'5" (165cm) tall, and due to this, his nickname among friends was "Half Pint". He had a loving girlfriend, Nicola Toms. Both are pictured above.
At 115am on 21 September 2011, Ross was walking with Nicola along a cycle path near Bourges Boulevard in Millfield. The pair had finished work at The Solstice, a local pub, and were walking to see one of Nicola's friends. They were suddenly confronted by a gang of approximately 10 Pakistani youths, some of whom were wearing balaclavas. The group warned Ross to run, but before he could react, they sprayed him with CS gas. Blinded, he never saw the punch heading towards his stomach. As he bent over in pain, one of the group wielded a 1-foot long hunting knife out and stabbed Ross three times. The wounds were forceful and deep - the blade passed completely through his body, emerging on the opposite side. He was stabbed through his chest and throat.
Being honest, none of us can imagine that sort of pain. The level of fear. To counteract the shock, Ross's heart began pumping his blood faster, which only made it spill more quickly. In this case, not even that was an act of mercy. One of the group carried a hammer, and as Ross lay on the floor, blinded, crippled and bleeding, the group surrounded him. He was repeatedly kicked in his face, head, neck and body. One of the group began smashing him over and over with the hammer.
Nicola ran, hysterical, to a nearby gas station. The attendant gave her his phone to call 999, and as she was on the phone, she could hear Ross crying out in pain as the attack continued. She flagged down a passing police car and took them to the scene. The group had fled, and all that remained was Ross's broken, torn, battered body. He had bled to death. After the murder, four of the gang returned to a nearby garage which they used as their headquarters. The leader of the group, brandishing the bloodied knife, before exclaiming "Cherish the blood!".
Twelve suspects of Pakistani descent were arrested on suspicion of murder. Only four were ever brought to justice. On 26 September 2001, Sarfraz Ali, Ahmed Ali Awan and Shaied Nazir appeared in court charged with Parker's murder. Co-defendant Zairaff Mahrad was charged the following day. In an incredible move, by March 2002 all four murder suspects had been released, temporarily freed by the court, and had been politely asked to return for their hearing date. Ross's family were so concerned about this decision that they wrote a letter of complaint to the (then) Home Secretary, David Blunkett. The British Home Office refused to comment on the case - the four men remained free on bail.
On 7 November 2002, Awan, Nazir, Ali and Mahrad stood trial for Parker's murder at Northampton Crown Court: all pleaded not guilty. Transcripts of covert police recordings of the suspects discussing the attack were submitted as evidence - these conversations took place in police vehicles when the suspects were arrested. The suspects were speaking to each other in Punjabi. Nazir was heard describing Parker's death as a "bloodbath", and boasting how the third blow from the knife had split the whole of Ross's neck open.
The murder weapons had been found in a shed at Nazir's house along with two bags of bloodied clothes, including the balaclavas. DNA and fingerprints belonging to Nazir were found on the hunting knife, and Parker's blood was found on both the hammer and knife. His blood was also found on the clothes of two of the accused, along with Nazir and Mahrad's DNA.
On 19 December 2002, Nazir, Awan and Ali were all found guilty of murder in
