Maureen Harvey lives in Kings Norton, Birmingham with her husband Ray. They have a daughter, Michelle, and three grandchildren Danielle, Paige, and Jordan. Since their son Lee was murdered by Tracie Andrews in December 1996, they have campaigned tirelessly to ensure that those convicted of murder serve their full prison tariff. Maureen's book is based on the diary she began writing after Lee's death and is a frank account of the emotional journey she and her family have taken during the last decade. It is a unique testimony which she hopes will serve not only as a tribute to Lee but as an inspiration to bereaved parents everywhere.
On 1st December 1996, 25-year-old Lee Harvey was stabbed 42 times in a frenzied knife attack. His girlfriend, Tracie Andrews, claimed he had been murdered in a road rage attack and, days later, appeared at a press conference making an emotional appeal for witnesses to the crime. During the days following the attack, the horrific truth about what really happened that night became apparent. It was Tracie who had killed Lee and then tried to cover her tracks with a web of lies...Lee was a good-looking, happy young man with a bright future ahead of him. Tracie Andrews appeared to be an attractive, lively blonde and, at first, their relationship seemed to be a happy one. But soon, Tracie's true nature began to reveal itself and she became jealous, possessive and even violent. Soon enough, the relationship became volatile and self-destructive. On that cold winter's night in 1996, Maureen Harvey heard the devastating news that every parent prays they will never have to hear - her child was dead. As events unfolded and the reality of what Tracie had done took hold, Maureen was forced to come to terms with the fact that the woman with whom she initially shared her grief was in fact the perpetrator of this horrific crime. In this compelling and harrowing book, Maureen shares the turmoil of a bereaved mother trying to come to terms with the brutal murder of her son while at the same time fighting to bring his killer, who she had welcomed into her home, to justice. She also reveals little-known facts about the investigation and speaks of how her shattered family came through their grief and began to rebuild their lives. Tragic and heart-wrenching, this gripping account of a mother's tragic loss cannot fail to touch the emotions of any reader.
