The family of a man who died more than 20 years ago is desperately campaigning for a convicted sex offender not to be buried in the grave next to him.
Stephen Lee Wilcock, from Blackburn, was 18 when he passed away suddenly in 1998. His sister Bethany Jackson is now campaigning for the rights of his burial spot 24 years on, LancsLive reports.
It comes after Stephen's father, Kevin Harrison, was convicted of a child sex offence against a boy and jailed last month. Harrison currently owns the plot next to his son Stephen and wishes to be buried there.
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When Stephen died, their mother and family could not afford to pay for funeral costs. At the time, Harrison offered to cover the costs and bought the deeds to Stephen's plot at Pleasington Cemetery in Blackburn. But this was an act that the family would later regret with Harrison still owning the spot next to Stephen despite pleas from Bethany and family to let them purchase it.
Stephen's mum, Linda Hogg, who is also Bethany's mum, expressed a desire to be buried next to her son after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Bethany said: "It was when Stephen turned 13-years-old that Stephen was given the choice to move in with Kevin at 16 and because we had such a hectic household with five children, he decided to go."
It was only two years later that Stephen was tragically found dead on the bathroom floor of the Oswaldtwistle home he was living in with Harrison. Initially, the family thought his cause of death was due to an asthma attack, but later found out it was down to a heart defect he unknowingly had since birth.
According to Bethany, her mother Linda was the last person to find out about the devastating news. And on top of the tragedy, the family had to cope with another stress - not being able to pay for the funeral costs, which would eventually give rise to an argument still being had over twenty years later.
Bethany said: "My mum was only working part-time when Stephen died so couldn't afford his funeral at the time. She had to stop grieving for a period of time in order to put the wheels into motion and figure out what to do. Kevin had the money and offered to help out - she didn't have a choice other than say 'yes'.
"He bought the deeds and a spot next to him, where he intends to be buried when he passes away."
In a recent tragic turn of events, Bethany and Stephen's mother Linda was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in November 2017. After receiving the diagnosis, she decided she wanted to take control of the situation and asked for Stephen's plot and the vacant spot, to be handed back over to her and her family.
Bethany and her brother Daniel met with Harrison in a Blackburn pub to ask him for the burial plot to be handed back over to their mother. Bethany claims he rejected their request a month later and that he "wasn't willing to give it up".
"I didn't want this for my mum, she knew her illness was terminal and we wanted to alleviate some of the pressure she had," Bethany said.
After receiving the answer they didn't want, Linda then wrote to Harrison herself, asking again for the burial plot to be handed over. The letter, seen by LancsLive, reveals that Kevin offered for Linda to be cremated and placed next to Stephen. But as a Catholic and wanting to have her name on the headstone and somewhere for her family to visit, she declined.
In the letter, Linda wrote: "No parent should have to bury their child, let alone argue with the other parent about who should be entitled to go in with them. I would like to be with my son, it is my final request. He is currently at peace and I would like to be at peace with him, and for my family to have peace of mind and to know that I will be with my first born again after all this time.
"They just want to be able to come and sit with their mum and brother, when the time comes, and to talk to us when times are hard, like they already do with Stephen now. The day you go in there, they will not do that, they will feel uncomfortable."
Linda died before this wish could be granted with no decision on the plot made either way. Towards the end of her life, Linda's condition deteriorated fast and on April 18 last month, she was given the news that she only had two days left to live. Alongside the devastating blow, came another, with Harrison, now 70, of Daisy Lane, Blackburn, a convicted child sex offender as of last month.
He was sentenced at Preston Crown Court last month, given two years imprisonment for arranging and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence with a concurrent six month sentence for publishing an obscene article. He was also handed a sexual harm prevent order for 10 years and made to pay a victim surcharge of £181.
Bethany said: "We only found out about Kevin when we read it in the newspapers. Apparently the crimes go as far back as 2019 and we had no idea. Mum was on her deathbed at the time so we didn't tell her. My dad buys the paper every morning and we all ran into the kitchen as soon as we saw Kevin's photo. We know vandalism could occur on the grave once Kevin has died and we don't want that to affect our brother.
"I especially don't feel comfortable bringing my young children to go and visit him - my eight-year-old comes and helps clean the grave but I don't want to do that if I know Kevin is lying next to him. We are all sickened by Kevin and his actions and now more than ever, we don't want him buried in a grave next to our brother."
Bethany says that with their family's case, there is not much in the legal sense that can be done, with solicitors advising that it's something they haven't seen before. However, in light of that, the sister has also been informed that an application can be made to exhume Stephen's remains and have him cremated and placed alongside their mum, who is currently buried beside her brother at Pleasington Cemetery.
Nonetheless, this option can take months and consent from Harrison will still be needed once he has finished the remainder of his sentence. If he does say no, the family could make an appeal to the Ministry of Justice.
"The licence and process is extremely costly which is still unfair but understandable," Bethany said. "I have also written an email to Darwen's MP Jake Berry in the hope that he may help us.
"Ultimately now, our goal is to do what we can but potentially campaign to change the laws surrounding exclusive rights of burials for situations like these. Its something I'm looking into and hope to get somewhere in order to help not just my family, but other families out there who could be going through the same thing."
LancsLive approached Harrison via the prison service and his family for comment but received no response prior to deadline and publication.
