TO KITCHEN BLOODBATH
alcohol poisoning. It was a dark patch. But now I know what I want to do with my life and I focus on that.”
Ryan reveals family life had previously been good and that he and Hemming did get along.
He says: “Geoff had seemed like a nice guy. He gave me driving lessons and we went on holidays. He proposed to Mum the Christmas before. He wrapped the ring in lots of boxes.
“Mum opened every box as they got smaller and smaller, and when she got down to the last box he got down on one knee and said ‘Will you be my wife?’ He started crying, Mum was crying and even I broke down crying.”
But the horror of that night in 2013 changed things forever – and Ryan never wants to see Hemming again. He adds: “I have thought about going to visit him, to ask why he did it, but I just want nothing to do with him. I don’t even want to know when he’s out of prison.”
Thoughts of Denise are never far from Ryan’s mind. “We had so many adventures,” he says. “She did everything for me. I have so many happy memories of her but I still find it hard to go to her grave. I visit twice a year.
“Memories of that day still come up randomly. When I’m on my own I think about it, of that whole day and that evening. Her loss has made me realise how short life is. And the only person you can ever really truly rely on is yourself.”
Ryan, who now lives in Gedling, Notts, praises his cousin Lisa Smith, 39, for helping him through the bad times.
In Denise’s memory, she is fundraising for domestic abuse charity Equation – with €1,400 netted from running marathons and doing triathlons. Ryan adds: “It’s great how much Lisa has done. She’s really determined.”
liz.dunphy@trinitymirror.com To suport Lisa’s fund, go to justgiving.com/ fundraising/lisa-smith191
GRIEVING RYAN ON COPING WITH NIGHTMARE MEMORIES