It was a life that began surrounded by love, but was ended surrounded by evil.
When Lee Irving was born on February 16, 1991, his young mum could never have imagined the problems he would face growing up.
And even as she began to discover her precious son was different to others his age, not even in her worst nightmares could Bev have envisioned that Lee's life would end in horror at the age of just 24.
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Lee, who suffered from profound learning difficulties was murdered after he was targeted and befriended by killer James Wheatley, who held him captive at his Newcastle home and subjected him to horrific violence.
Bev has always believed opportunities to keep Lee safe were missed because his vulnerabilities were not recognised by authorities and he was treated as an adult when he had the mental capacity of a child.
Now in a bid to help other families understand their loved one's vulnerabilities Bev is sharing the story of Lee's early childhood.
The 49-year-old says she has already been contacted by parents who have been able to get help for their children after learning lessons from what happened to Lee.
And Bev, hopes that live can be saved if the signs of vulnerability are recognised early by others.
She said: "I want to protect people in my son's name. If it's the last thing I do, I will save people in Lee's name."
Lee grew up in the West Denton area of Newcastle with Bev and his three brothers, Joe, Charlie and Owen. He was identified as having severe speech and learning difficulties at an early age, and was educated at the Percy Hedley School, which caters for children with additional needs.
Trusting Lee was befriended by Wheatley in 2014. He began spending time at the Kenton Bar home Wheatley shared with his mum Julie Mills, sometimes disappearing for long periods.
Bev said she would regularly report her son missing to the police and other agencies, but was repeatedly told that because Lee was an adult he was free to go where he pleased.
But the horrifying reality was that Lee was being abused and eventually killed by Wheatley, while his mum, girlfriend and their lodger were present.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how Lee was beaten and sedated with drugs, including morphine, to prevent him escaping his captors. After he died, his body was wheeled in a pushchair and dumped near to the A1 in Fawdon.
He had suffered a catalogue of injuries, likened to those seen in car crash casualties, including 27 rib fractures. Wheatley was found guilty of murder and jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years behind bars.
Mills was jailed for 10 years and Wheatley’s girlfriend Nicole Lawrence for seven, after both were found guilty of perverting the course of justice and causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult.
Wheatley’s lodger Barry Imray was also found guilty of allowing Lee’s death and jailed for three years.
In 2017 Newcastle City Council published a serious case review, which highlighted failings and missed opportunities to save Lee.
The report, prepared by Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board, revealed despite repeated pleas from family members little was done to help Lee after he was targeted by Wheatley.
And Bev has always insisted, that in Lee's case, that the authorities did not fully understand what it meant to be a vulnerable adult.
Here she shares the first part of Lee's story as she looks back on her tragic son's early days.
Lee's childhood:
Bev said: "My son Lee was born at Newcastle General Hospital on February 16 1991.
Born on a Saturday at 5.45am, he weighed 7Ib 5oz and I was overjoyed to have a beautiful baby son.
I was 17 years of age when I had him. I absolutely adored him and I have never felt a love like it in my life. He was a beautiful perfect baby, born with big brown eyes.
I lived in a flat with very little and very little money. I had a lot of donations of baby items which I was most grateful for. No one was judged back in them days, there was charities to help. Nowadays it would be a referral to social services, but it was never like that when I had Lee.
I remember coming home with him and had daily visits from the midwife who praised me how well I was doing and made me feel proud as a young mother who had very few people around. I was the oldest of four so I was sort of left to get on with it, but I managed very well considering.
Lee as a newborn, as far as I can remember, was a good baby who liked his sleep a lot. I don't recall any crying in the night with him.
As he got a little bit older I had him in the bed with me. He would have a night time bottle and he would take it to bed with me and him both in my bed and we would end up snuggled up and falling asleep at the same time.
He slept in my bed until he was about seven. I was young but having my son made me happier than thinking of any night out, or going out socialising, so I spent every minute with him and coped very well. He was well looked after, loved and cared for.
As he started crawling he was into everything ,and I mean everything. If it wasn't stuck down it was broken. He started walking at 13 months and you had to have eyes in the back of your head.
He would empty cupboards, soap powder, anything that opened went all over. He learnt to open the fridge and empty the full contents of it all over the floor, opened tubs of butter to eat, you name it , he done it.
He smashed every ornament I owned, I never had a cup with a handle on.
He would throw everything, never put things down, it would get stotted off the floor, he was like the world's naughtiest child, but a loveable one as well and often the things he done were funny.
If anyone visited he would throw things off them, if they sat him on their knee he would rive their hair out.
I hated shopping, he used to sit in the trolley and empty it quicker than it went in. He hated wearing clothes so would strip off, if I was on a bus and anyone sat in front of me he would go straight for their hair.
You had to take them out the buggy back then and put the buggy in the front of the bus , I would sit in my seat with him cuddling him in with his arms under mine as I was a wreck at what he was going to do next.
I sweat constantly then we would go into shops in town, he pulled everything off the rails as we went past. Everything would get thrown all over the floor in the shop, and nine times out of 10 he would be half stripped off. The looks I would get in the winter!
It got to the point I couldn't take him into town as he would climb out his buggy, there was not a way possible to keep him in.
We went to a lot of places to visit and guarantee I would of had at least one argument with someone over his behaviour and the looks I used to get. We used to go to the food court in town and he would eat his dinner and then for absolutely no reason, launch his plate across the tables . Needless to say it ended in mothers looking at me in disgust.
I would defend his behaviour as by this point I knew something wasn't quite right with him.
He started Farne Nursery in Newbiggin Hall in Sept 1994, where he caused chaos with his behaviour. He never had speech at all and it was obvious at this point something didn't add up.
I only lived across the road from the nursery and it was a nightmare, from waking him up on a morning to getting him dressed. I had to hold his arms to get his bottom half ready, and his legs to get his top half ready, shoes on and leave at that second or the clothes would come back off.
He stripped from the waist down everyday. Then on way to school he would grab hold of lampposts, drainpipes on the school gates and fences. He would latch onto everything.
Everyday I was late, but I didn't mind as it was impossible to stand in a schoolyard full off parents with kids and me with my naughty child.
I used to have to chase him round the tables to catch him to bring him home, then put the coat on him. It ended the teacher doing this for me and holding him till I got there.
He done a full term there and was due to go into Reception, however they wouldn't take him in, said he wouldn't manage, had no speech and was just a child that caused mayhem.
So it was agreed with myself and school to keep him in nursery instead of Reception class. Here he learned Makaton sign language, had one-to-one support and he settled down nicely.
However, his education and development lacked too much to be moved up into mainstream education, so it was after a long hard fight with the local authority Lee started Percy Hedley special educational needs school in Sept 1996.
This is the first part of my journey with my son Lee."
Earlier this year the Chronicle revealed how Bev had applied to the Newcastle Coroner to have Lee’s inquest re-opened in the hope that the full circumstances leading to his death in 2015 could be heard in public.
But she was later told that because Lee was unlawfully killed and died more than five years ago a new hearing would not be possible.
However, determined Bev has vowed to fight on and raise awareness and disability hate crime and vulnerability in her son's name.
Bev will continue to tell Lee's story in ChronicleLive.
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