Liverpool's sky was lit up this weekend as the family and friends of Gary Morgan marked his birthday.
Gary Morgan was stabbed to death by Emma Walsh, at her home on Lavan Close in Everton on April 10 after enduring months of abuse from the "controlling" 31-year-old, who had previously attacked him with a rake and a spirit level, leaving him with a gash on his eyebrow.
Family and friends paid tribute to the dad-of-two on what would have been his 37th birthday by releasing 100 illuminated lanterns into the night on Saturday, October 15.
READ MORE: Murderer jailed for 18 years for killing boyfriend after night in the pub
A jury took less than two hours to find Walsh guilty of Gary's murder following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court last week.
She had initially claimed landscaper Gary had been attacked by "some fella in town", then changed her story to say he had sustained his fatal injury after falling onto a broken shard of plastic from a bluetooth speaker.
She eventually admitted that she had stabbed him, but claimed that she had done so in self-defence after he started choking her.
But the court saw through her lies, and she was sentenced to 18 years behind bars. Judge Andrew Menary KC said: "You were making (Gary's) life an utter misery. For little or no reason, but typically when you were drunk, your temper exploded and Gary Morgan was often on the receiving end.
"The reality is that Gary Morgan posed no threat to you at all that night. It is a tragic irony that so many members of his family, and Gary Morgan himself, predicted that if he stayed with you - a woman he so obviously loved - you would end up killing him.
"You knew full well that you had an explosive temper and were prone to using implements to cause harm. There had been plenty of warnings in the past, but you were unwilling or unable to change."
Commemorating Gary's birthday on Saturday, his cousin Shannon Landers called for more attention to be given to male victims of domestic abuse.
She said: "Happy birthday Gary Morgan. You may not be spending it as you wished to and never will be able to, but the predator is now in it's cage. You will always be missed and loved. I'm jealous of heaven right now."
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