The hope that sprang from heartache

‘No one knows what to say,’ says Mary Storrie. ‘Even now, 16 years later, people struggle to say anything, because what can you say to someone whose child has been murdered? For us, the Rosie May Foundation is one way of ensuring that every single day Rosie May’s name is mentioned, that every single day her face is seen and that every single day I’m able to talk to people outside the family about her.’

On 28 December 2003, Mary and Graham Storrie went with their three children, Luke, Laurence and Rosie May, to a post-Christmas gathering given by close friends. They knew the hosts and all the guests so had no concerns when their children went upstairs to play. Rosie May was killed by the hosts’ 17-year-old son, a young man the 10-year-old had known all her life.

Her death changed her family forever. ‘Rosie May was murdered, and nothing about that is acceptable,’ says Mary. ‘Of course we have accepted that it happened, but we could never be the people we were before, we could never be our old selves. There was the life we had before, and the life we have after…’

Their daughter’s death in such circumstances took the Storries to a place beyond anything their friends had experienced, beyond anything that could be imagined. ‘What happened to Rosie May was extraordinary. To cling to our sanity and to keep going we had to counter the weight of that by doing something that was also extraordinary, otherwise we’d never have stood any chance of finding balance. We’d have remained forever in the depths.’