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".
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Mr Cooper, who is 68 and retired, said: "We never got to say goodbye to him. Once we got there, he was gone. It ruined our lives and torn our family apart. We are both on antidepressants at the moment.
"Sometimes when I am driving I just pull over and start crying. The word closure is such a nondescript word. Can you ever forget what has happened? You cannot - there is something everyday that reminds us of him."
Ethan Austin was tried and convicted of the murder in March 2020 and was ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years behind bars. The sentence was imposed after a jury heard that the single blow went through the heart of Lee Cooper, 28, who had arrived to defend his friends.
During the trial, the jury heard that Austin had a dispute with a man he knew from prison. He shouted across Mansfield Road and the man came running with a friend. Austin backed into Union Road, the route used by buses and cars leaving the Victoria Centre.
The pair halted when they saw the weapon but Mr Cooper arrived moments later and was stabbed. He managed to run across the street but died outside the House of Fraser shop despite emergency surgery as he lay on the pavement. Austin, then of Ash Villas, Carrington, who was sentenced when he was 19 years old, accepted inflicting the lethal blow but claimed he was acting in self-defence.
The defendant's father Daniel Austin, 46, of Westleigh Road, near Aspley, and his sister Shelby Austin, 26, of Pyatt Street, The Meadows appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on March 16 and pleaded guilty for assisting Ethan Austin.
Daniel Austin, was sentenced to 16 months in prison suspended for two years after pleading guilty. Judge Rosalind Coe QC handed Shelby Austin eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty.
While justice has been served, Lee's parents say that "we were given a life sentence" because nothing will ever bring their son back. "He was young and a life ahead of him", Mr Cooper added. "And then the next time we saw him was at the mortuary. It has completely broken us."
They described Lee as a "loving and protective son and brother" who left behind four sisters. He was a talented chef, who discovered his passion for cooking "out of the blue" since he was 17.
He was always experimenting in the kitchen, and his dishes prepared with love were what used to bring the family together for meals. Lee was working at the Wollaton Hotel as a professional chef.
He also had a passion for sports cars, especially Ferraris. His parents said he had always succeeded in making them proud. His mum, Ms Panayi, 60, added: "He loved animals, he adored children and he would get along with them so well.
"He would have loved to have children of his own. On his headstone there is a message, and it says he does not want much from life, he does not want stress, he does not want much money at all. He wants to be happy. That is what it says on his headstone - his words."
Lee's funeral was held on November 4, back in 2019. His mum added: "I can live without my leg, or my arm. It is a struggle to live without a child. We keep him very much alive in the house. I could not believe that he died. I could not process it."
His parents, who are divorced but have remained 'best friends', have now joined the calls to raise awareness about knife crime in Nottingham. As part of a national campaign to combat knife crime, educational events at local schools and colleges, along with the use of metal-detecting walk-through knife arches, will take place across Nottinghamshire. Operation Sceptre started on Monday (May 16) and will last a week.
Ms Panayi added: "Buying a knife from a shop is so accessible - something needs to be done about that. Also, people need to be aware of their surroundings. Don't take things for granted. Don't take life for granted. Always be aware of your surroundings."
