'Stop protecting those who don't deserve it': Liverpool mother's search for killer of teenage son

The family of a teenager gunned down while riding his bike have issued an emotional plea for people to "do the right thing" and "stop protecting" those who killed him.

Ellis Cox, 19, was with his friends when he was shot on the Liver Industrial Estate in Aintree, Liverpool, on Sunday 23 June.

Paramedics were called to the scene and took Ellis to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound. He died a short time after.

His mother, Carolyn Cox, said: "I spoke to Ellis a number of times that day... And then when I phoned him to say his tea was ready he said 'I'll be five minutes' and told me to warm up his tea. That's how close he was.

"I was starting to think he was taking a while and then my brother phoned me to say Ellis was in the hospital."

Detectives hunting the killers say Ellis was not linked to any criminality and, he was not the target of the shooting.

Carolyn said: "In my head, he's still in work because that's the only way I can get up. His room is exactly the same, his work uniform is hung up and ready.

"His lunch was in the fridge for weeks because I didn't want to throw it away... I haven't accepted it. I just can't."

Since his death, Merseyside Police has arrested four people but are yet to charge anyone with Ellis' murder.

His family are now launching a fresh appeal for anyone to come forward with information that could lead to the teen's killer finally facing justice.

Carolyn said: "It can be done anonymously. It can be done over the phone. If they knew what we were going through and the hell of living with out Ellis... Just search your conscious.

"If you know anything about these people who took Ellis from us, just think; they can go home to their parents every night. I don't have Ellis coming home to me.

"They don't deserve to be out on the street when we don't have our Ellis."

Ellis' aunt, Julie O'Toole, added: "Liverpool is known to be a city that comes together, and even though this wall of silence has gone up there's people out there what the right thing to do is - and at the moment they're protecting those people."

Julie described her nephew as a "gentle giant" and someone "everyone wanted to be friends with."

She said: "He was so considerate of everyone else. If his cousins ever had a problem they would go to him, and he was so mature and would always end up making them feel better.

"As such a close family it's just the biggest loss and something we'll never get over."

Carolyn added: "I miss listening to him on the playstation with his cousins, hearing him just belly laughing. Then he would get in the shower and sing so loud everyday."

As the mum prepares for her first Christmas without her son, she says she could never accept his death while his killer still walks free.

She said: "There will be no Christmas tree in our house. There's no reason to put one up without Ellis. I can't even bear to think what it's going to be like.

"[His killer] doesn't deserve to be out on the street when we don't have our Ellis."

If you have any information about Ellis' murder, you can visit a dedicated web page to submit information or footage which can help in the investigation. You can also contact Merseyside Police via social media @MerPolCC or call 101 or quoting reference 24000554719. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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