Mum of murdered Hull student Libby Squire retraces her final steps ahead of meeting with PM
Video report by Astrid Quinn
The mother of murdered Hull student Libby Squire says she still longs to know more about her daughter's final moments – three years after her death.
Lisa Squire travelled to Hull from her home in High Wycombe to retrace Libby's last steps ahead of a meeting with the Prime Minister later this month, as she campaigns for tougher sentences for killers.
She said there are still seven minutes of time before Libby's death in 2019 that are unaccounted for – and she is desperate to know what happened.
"It would mean a lot to me because I could then piece the last pieces of her life together," she said.
"I knew almost everything about her life but I don't know what happened. There are two questions that go through my head – did she cry and where he put her in the water?
"It gnaws away at me and I have to work quite hard to not let it really get to me."
It sparked the biggest missing persons inquiry in Humberside Police history. Almost seven weeks later, her body was pulled from the Humber Estuary.
Serial sex offender Pawel Relowicz was later convicted of raping and murdering her at the Oak Road playing fields. He dumped her body in the River Hull.
Ms Squire said: "I do feel guilty for not being able to save her, I should have known that she was in danger and I didn't. I feel like I should have known."
Relowicz, 26, was jailed in February last year for life, with a minimum term of 27 years.
The sentence was later referred to the Attorney General's Office but deemed not to be unduly lenient.
Now Lisa Squire is calling for longer sentences for those who commit crimes of "choice", like rape and murder.
"I want life to mean life," she said. "He got a life sentence of 27 years, he’ll be 54 when he gets out – he’s more than capable of doing it again and he’s more than able to have another life. She doesn’t get to come back again in 27 years."
Ms Squire is due to meet Boris Johnson later this month to discuss her campaign, along with finding out what more can be done to to keep women safe.
"I just want the Prime Minister to know what it’s like as a mother to lose her child in this way and I want him to know it’s about time we do something differently," she said.
"It would make a difference to women and I then think that Libby’s death then hasn’t been in vain.
"If I just sat back I wouldn’t be honouring her."
Ms Squire is also working with Hull North MP, Diana Johnson, to call for early intervention for sex offenders who commit relatively low-level crimes. She said: "If things had been different with Pawel it might never have gotten to that stage.
"I think these people need help with these behaviours and if there was a treatment centre, those who have the potential to go on and commit further harm would be flagged.
"If you can stop them at the very first stage, then it just makes sense."
Ms Johnson said: "It's a no brainer – tackling this early on, dealing with these problems early on, can save the heartache for some families later on."