Anna HOpkins
anna's 125 miles across 13 days in November
Fundraising for AAFDA
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
I am running to remember domestic homicide victims. I am running 125 miles in 13 days across November...this equals 3 x 10 mile runs a week...eeek.
I'm doing this running challenge in aid of AAFDA a charity that specialises in guiding families through Inquiries including Domestic Homicide Reviews and Mental Health Reviews, and we assist with and represent on Inquests, Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) inquiries and other reviews.
Every run will be dedicated to a domestic violence homicide victim.
Run 1 is in memory of January 2019: Margaret Smyth, 29, known as Maggie, was missing for six days before police found parts of her body under rubble at a former pub in Bolton where her ex-partner Christopher Taylor, 39, had been working. Her leg was found in a park by a dog walker, her head has not been found. Maggie is 16th women out of 115 women killed in 2019. This run is for you Maggie ❤
Run 2 was for rosie darbyshire. Rosie 27 was murdered by her boyfriend in preston 7th February 2019. She had a 9 year old son. She had only been with the boyfriend for one month. She had applied for a disclosure under Clares law but the results took 5 weeks to come through by which point he had already killed her.
This run is for you Rosie and your family ❤
Run 3 was dedicated to Rachel Evans (46) from St. Helens who was stabbed over a 100 times by her partner after she told him she wanted to end the relationship. Rachel was a mother to 5 children. This run is for you Rachel. ❤️
Run 4 was dedicated to Regan Tierney (27) who was stabbed to death in her home in Walkden, Manchester in 2019. It is believed her ex partner stabbed her before stabbing himself in a murder/suicide. Regan had phoned the police the night before her murder to report her ex partner had found out she was in a new relationship. It is believed she wanted a restraining order. Regan left behind two small children. This run is for you Regan ❤
Run 5 was dedicated to Katie Wilding. Katie was in an abusive relationship with her abuser. He was on bail for violently assaulting her and was wearing a tag for the offence. He had threatened Katie's mother that he would kill Katie by means of her taking drugs. I have seen Katie's mum speak in a video about her ordeal to try and get proper recognition of this not being a suicide but a DV related murder- it was heartbreaking and I cried it was a very powerful video. AAFDA - Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse has helped Katie's family navigate this complex system and raise the profile of these cases by providing excellent training sessions such as the one I attended.
This run is for you Katie ❤
Run 6 was dedicated to Gemma Leeming. Aged 30 and mother of two, Gemma's partner strangled her to death in Chorley in 2017. He wrote with her blood on her dead body "you can't have my brains" and inserted a 10p coin into her eyesocket and wrote "no brain" on her in mascara. This run is for you Gemma ❤
Run 7 was dedicated to Joanne Harrison who was brutally murdered at the age of 20 by her partner in Wigan in 2015. He stabbed her repeatedly with a pair of scissors. The 999 operator listened to Joanne pleading with them "please i'm dying" before she slowly succumbed to her injuries. The post mortem found she had 36 separate injuries dating back months revealing a long history of domestic abuse. Joanne was the mother of his young child who she was forced to leave behind. This run is for you Joanne ❤
Run 8 was for Chrissy Kendall (46) who was murdered in 2017 by her controlling husband who had found out Chrissy was moving out of the marital home after they had agreed to separate. He strangled her to death and left her body for her son to find. Chrissy was a mum to three children and a grandmother.
This run is for you Chrissy ❤️
Run 9 is dedicated to Magdalena Pacult (46) who was murdered in Stockbridge Village, Merseyside on January 1st 2020. She was found on the bed covered in blood with reddening to her neck and bruises on her arm.
Prior to this brutal murder Magdalena had sent text messages:-In one message she said: "I must escape from the house, he drinks and gets aggressive." In a different message she said: "He keeps threatening me, calling me names, making me feel scared.
"He keeps the key, he sleeps with them. I can't change the lock because I'm unable to do it."
He left the house in the morning. Magdalena was found by her 16 year old daughter lying dead on the bed.
This run is for you Magdalena 
Run 10 is dedicated to Yvonne Davies (45) who was stabbed to death by her husband in Stockport in 2015. She was struck on the head 8 times with a hammer and died after catastrophic knife wounds around her neck. Her husband was found hanging in their home with a hammer. Their 8 year old daughter was left an orphan on that day.
Neighbours stated: They were just a nice, normal couple. They were quiet, but friendly. I saw them on Thursday and my son saw them on Friday morning and everything seemed to be fine." And that's the problem with this, so much of the violence and abuse leading up to is hidden.
This run is for you Yvonne and your daughter ❤
Run 11 is dedicated to Anne Marie Cropper (47) who was found beaten to death with over 100 injuries in Southport in 2015. Her partner had inflicted blows to her head, neck, chest, abdomen, back, torso, arms, legs and genitals. Ms Cropper’s family saw her with black eyes, bruises to her body and bite marks to her ears after the couple started seeing each other last summer.
Her eldest daughter took her to hospital on September 4, where she recounted a “history of violence” to a doctor, including the abuser cutting her hand with a knife.
Ms Cropper told her middle daughter the abuser flushed her phone down the toilet so she couldn’t seek help.
She also said he “stabbed her to the arms and legs with a fork” - leaving the cutlery embedded in her flesh.
She was a mother and a grandmother.
This run is for you Anne Marie
Run 12 is dedicated to Jenna who was taken from this world because of the abuse she had suffered by her abuser. She did not make this decision, the abuser left her with no other option and left her mental health shattered unable to go on anymore. Her sister Natasha said "she took her own life with his boot print on her body. If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever."
Jenna Marie Roberts died 31st May 2017 in Northwich, Cheshire. This run is for you Jenna and your sister natasha and your children and rest of family ❤
My last run is dedicated to Cherylee Sanders (40) who was subjected to a brutal attack outside her home in Rawtenstall in March 2014. Sadly, the killer had been released from prison in 2012 for killing his previous partner. Failings from the authorities meant he was not monitored as he should have been.
On 17 March 2014, Cherylee called probation and confirmed her reports of abuse were true. The probation officer called the police, told them that Cherylee was ‘terrified of the killer and terrified for her daughter’, that he had ‘consistently physically abused her’ and that ‘we need to get him arrested’. The call handler designated the call as grade 2 response (within an hour). However only two domestic violence officers attended, more than an hour later, with no stab vests and only a baton by way of equipment.
Almost immediately after the officers arrived at Cherylee’s home, the killer entered the back door armed with a hammer. He took a knife from the kitchen. The two officers were unable to prevent the fatal attack on Cherylee that ensued. The killer used the hammer to inflict serious head injuries on one officer and threatened the other with the knife. He pursued Cherylee out of the house and stabbed her repeatedly, before being apprehended and restrained by other officers. Cherylee collapsed and was pronounced dead at the scene.
This run is for you Cherylee and your family
Two women a week are killed by their partner or ex partner in the UK.
AAFDA - Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse- an amazing and small charity that helps families of these victims murdered. They also provide excellent training for organisations involved in Domestic violence. I'm running to raise money forAAFDA - Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse
I am running for AAFDA - Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse an amazing charity that helps families like Rachel's deal with the aftermath and provides excellent training.