Brixton Academy crush victims' families still seek justice

Exactly six months ago, a crush brought a performance astatine the Brixton Academy to an abrupt halt. Two of those who went to the southbound London venue that nighttime ne'er came home, and their families are inactive waiting for answers astir what happened.

Social media footage showed agelong queues of people, galore thought to beryllium ticketless, trying to summation introduction to the sold-out gig by Afrobeats creator Asake connected 15 December.

Nursing postgraduate Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, from Newham successful eastbound London, and information dog-handler Gaby Hutchinson, 23, from Gravesend successful Kent, some died from the injuries they sustained successful the crush. A 3rd person, a 21-year-old woman, remains successful a superior information successful hospital.

"She was stunning, so, truthful beautiful," says Rebecca's aunt Mary Ikumelo. "Such a beauteous individual, not lone connected the extracurricular but besides inside."

"Rebecca was a bubbly person," says her parent Yetunde Olodo, 59. "She was precise outgoing, caring, loving. She was an astonishing mother."

Her children, aged 7 and five, look increasing up without her. "She's got 2 young kids, they're missing their mom," says Yetunde.

"They don't truly cognize what really happened to their mom. We truly privation justice."

Speaking to Rebecca's family, their pridefulness astatine the enactment she did to enactment parents of autistic children shines through.

"A batch of women that reached retired said the astir astonishing things astir her, however she selflessly ever had clip for them," Mary adds.

"She would springiness them routines, she would conscionable springiness them small gems connected however to assistance their children with the autism.

"That's strangers reaching retired to accidental however astonishing an idiosyncratic was truthful you tin ideate however blessed the radical to person her successful their lives perpetually were."

Like Rebecca's family, Gaby's relatives person photographs and memories connected societal media to assistance retrieve Gaby.

"I consciousness that if you ever met Gaby portion she was alive, you would ne'er hide her," her mum Christine told the BBC. "She would marque a truly large content connected you, hopefully a bully one.

"My bosom feels similar it's broken. It's ne'er going to mend again. I privation it had been maine alternatively than her due to the fact that she had a beingness to unrecorded and astatine slightest I've lived 60 years."

Her sister Nina described Gaby arsenic "a large soul". The 32-year-old said: "She had a batch of passionateness successful there. She was a existent laugh. She was conscionable truthful loving and caring."

Half a twelvemonth on, Christine and Nina accidental it inactive doesn't "feel real". They some paid tribute to Gaby's selflessness.

"She ne'er would person walked retired determination knowing idiosyncratic other was successful information oregon needed help," Nina adds. "She would person stayed and that's what she did. She's a hero, she truly is.

"Maybe a anserine one, but she's our leader and we're grateful that we did get the clip that we had with her."

Both families privation anyone with immoderate accusation oregon footage to stock it with police, who accidental they person spoken to hundreds of radical who were there.

"We're aggravated that determination are things that haven't gone close that has led to radical dying oregon being earnestly injured and we conscionable privation those radical to person justice," Nina says.

"We privation to cognize however it happened, we privation to cognize wherefore it happened," adds Mary, "and past we conscionable privation to cognize however are we moving guardant going to forestall this from happening to idiosyncratic else's daughter, mum, sister, niece.

"All we privation is justice, for radical to travel guardant and assistance us. Whatever they know, they should travel and archer the police.

"It's really, truly important for each of america arsenic a assemblage to basal unneurotic and to conscionable marque definite that this benignant of happening doesn't hap again."

Brixton Academy's relation the Academy Music Group, which hopes the venue tin reopen despite the Met's opposition, antecedently said it was "devastated" astir the deaths and that it had "engaged collaboratively" with some Lambeth Council and the Metropolitan Police since the crush.

Det Ch Insp Nigel Penney, the Met's elder investigating serviceman into the tragedy, said helium was "extremely confident" constabulary would get to the bottommost of what happened - but explained that helium needed much witnesses to "help maine portion unneurotic the puzzle arsenic to however that crush ever happened successful the archetypal place".

He told the BBC hundreds of statements had already been taken but "there were thousands of radical there, truthful there's inactive a batch to do".

The detective said his connection was a elemental one: "Come guardant with thing you know, adjacent if it's thing you've heard. Come guardant if you person worldly connected your phone. Come forward."