Parents of murdered Reading teen Olly Stephens say Christmas is 'no longer the same'
The parents of murdered teenager Olly Stephens say Christmas is "no longer the same" without their son.
Stuart Stephens, Olly's father, said: "He was a massive part of the family, he was our entertainment.
"He was Christmas, holidays, birthdays, celebrations. It's not the same because he's not there and that's really difficult."
The family no longer celebrate the holiday because "it's just too much".
Amanda Stephens, Olly's mother, said: "We just can't do it anymore, we just can't.
"Christmas really was a joy, it was an innocence, a sort of celebration of when our kids were younger, the excitement and it feels like that's just been ripped from us and we can't see that that fits into our life anymore.
"I've got a video of the last Christmas we had from the doorway just scanning around the lounge, past the Christmas tree, all of the presents, all of the decorations and I look back on that and I feel incredible loss that that was our last Christmas together."
Stuart added: "It's too much pain for everybody and we're only two years in and the impact of not having him in our lives and not having things to look forward to with him.
"When you do do something it makes you feel guilty because he's not there, especially living in this area because driving around, going to the shops, he would normally be with me.
"You go to the garage and he would normally be with me or seeing children in their school uniform and without realising I'll look for him.
"It's always there, that feeling of the loss."
Olly, 13, was stabbed after being lured to a park in Reading, Berkshire, by three other teenagers following a feud on social media.
The family have not celebrated Christmas since Olly's murder two years ago.
On the second anniversary of their son's death, Stuart and Amanda are determined to make the internet a safer place for children.
The couple hope the Online Safety Bill will be passed in Parliament this year.
Stuart said: "You can't deny that harm is there, we've seen it first hand. It's not a safe environment for children so things need to change.
"Once we get the Online Safety Bill passed that will then allow us to pick up again on law changes.
"There are things that we feel need changing to catch up within law in how social media is used.
"Olly loved his friends, he protected his friends and if we can do anything for Olly it's for us to protect other children. That will be his legacy."
In September 2021, three teenagers were jailed over the killing of Olly Stephens.
Olly was attacked in Bugs Bottom field in January 2021.
The teenager was convinced to go to the park by a 14-year-old girl, where he was then "ambushed" by two boys and stabbed to death.
One 14-year-old boy was jailed for a minimum of 13 years, while another 14-year-old boy was jailed for 12 years. Both had already served 260 days of those sentences at the time of conviction.
The 14-year-old girl, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was jailed for 38 months.
The teenagers cannot be named for legal reasons.