The heartbroken family of a young man who was tragically murdered in the city centre said their pain will never go away. It has been almost three years since the dreadful night when Lee Cooper was stabbed through the heart with a samurai sword.
The 28-year-old was left to die on a street outside the House of Fraser store near the Victoria Centre on the evening of Saturday, September 14, 2019. Recalling the horror night, his dad Roy Cooper said: "I got a phone call from one of his friends. He told me where he was and said there was blood everywhere."
Mr Cooper and Lee's mum, Mary Panayi, rushed to the scene only to be told that their son was dead. They said they could feel nothing but "despair", with Ms Panayi falling to the ground after she saw "a white tent, and Lee's trainers".
