'He was five minutes away from home when he was killed': Mum of murdered teenager Ellis Cox

Ellis Cox's mum Carolyn said her son was 'five minutes away from home' when he was killed

The mum of a 19-year-old man who was shot as he cycled home has said he had asked her "to warm his tea up" five minutes before he was killed.

Ellis Cox died on Sunday 23 June 2023, after being shot with a self-loading pistol as he cycled through the Liver Industrial Estate in Aintree after a day out in Ormskirk with his friends.

His mum Carolyn has spoken publicly for the first time since he was killed, saying she "keeps telling herself he's at work" as she tries to deal with the pain of losing him.

She said: "I keep hoping to hear him singing in the shower like he did every day after work or laughing on his PlayStation or saying, 'Mum, I'm hungry, mum I'm hungry'.

"I just keep having to tell myself that he's in work and he'll be back soon because he said he would be five minutes.

"He was so close to home.

"I'd just finished a phone call to him and he said, 'Mum, I will be five minutes' and to warm his tea, but he never came home."

Carolyn says she is angry that whoever shot her son thinks they can "take a life as precious as Ellis's for nothing".

She said: "He was genuinely a very good boy. He was amazing. What gives these people the right to go round with guns taking children.

"Parents shouldn't have to bury their children."

Investigating officers believe Ellis was with four people on the day of his death.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, who is leading the investigation, said: "He had known them since potentially school days but they were not close.

"He had got back in touch with them in the weeks or months before his death."

Ellis and the group had initially planned to go to Southport, but instead got the train from Aintree to Ormskirk.

Officers believe the group hung out around the Edge Hill University campus then got the train back to Maghull before riding through Melling and Aintree.

Their journey took them through the industrial estate towards the Liverpool Loop Line - known locally as the Ralla - which led up to where he lived.

DCI McGrath said some of Ellis’ associates that he was with on the night are linked to criminality.

When asked at what sort of level, the senior officer said "at most street level drug dealing in the local area", and has re-issued an appeal for witnesses.

He said: "My appeal would be if you have information you can be assured we will put all resources into keeping you safe.

"Ellis was only 19. When he died he was just a kid himself. You think of all the missed opportunities for Ellis’ family moving forward.

"He is described as a gentle giant in the family. This has created a massive hole for his family. We are never going to fill that, but we can help them come to terms with it.”

The force has made four arrests in connection with Ellis murder, including a 17-year-old boy from West Derby and a 61-year-old from Huyton, but no-one has been charged.