Moira’s murder left me ready to break.. we’ve lagged behind rest of the UK in victim support for years. When I heard about the new scheme I thought, ‘Wow, this is wonderful’
Boost for families traumatised by killing
THE mother of murdered businesswoman Moira Jones has welcomed a bid to improve support for the devastated families of homicide victims.
Bea Jones has campaigned for years for a service to help bereaved relatives through the “hellish” period after a loved one is slain.
The 76-year-old said the shock of her daughter’s horrific death and the “awfulness” of the killer’s trial left her “ready to break”.
A support service was launched in England and Wales seven years ago but Scotland has “lagged behind,” she added.
Yesterday, it was announced Victim Support Scotland (VSS) would receive £1.2million from the Scottish Government to establish their own Homicide Service.
The scheme will provide every family of a murder or culpable homicide victim with a case worker.
That point of contact is designed to ensure they are continually supported and informed through the criminal justice system.
It will reduce the need for them to retell harrowing stories to every organisation where they seek help.
Britvic executive Moira, 40, was raped and beaten to death yards from her home in Glasgow’s Queen’s Park in May 2008 in a case which sickened the nation.
Her killer Marek Harcar, 41, fled Scotland to his native Slovakia but was detained by police three weeks later and extradited to the UK. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years in April 2009.
Bea set up The Moira Fund, a charity offering financial support to victims’ families. She said: “Having a dedicated service means you don’t have the ‘hit and miss’ system, which exists in Scotland.
“There are agencies who do very good work but there are gaps. It’s worrying that families will drop between these gaps.
“A homicide case worker will be able to do all sorts for a family, such as liaising with a children’s school, employers, social services, health services, legal services and the courts. My hope is there will now be huge improvements.”
Bea, who lives in Staffordshire, said her experience after Moira’s murder left her convinced other families enduring a similar trauma needed help.
She said: “When Moira was killed, we came to Scotland and were looked after by two police liaison officers and my family.
“In a lot of cases, these officers are not with a family long. In some murders, it’s obvious who is responsible and the liaison officers are only there until an arrest is made.
“With Moira’s killer, it took some time to find out who it was and then get him back. The liaison officers looked after us for a month and were superb.
“Then we went home to a village where we have a lot of long-term friends and family. But there were no dedicated support services down south or in Scotland. “It was a hellish time. The mixture of emotions is dreadful. “We were so shocked when Moira was killed. It got worse and worse and the trial was the culmination of all that awfulness because you hear everything. I was ready to break. “But I’d just announced I was setting up The Moira Fund and that perhaps saved me.” Bea had to sit through the agony of Harcar’s 20-day trial but said family and friends were at her side. She added: “We were very lucky to have that kind of support.” The Moira Fund carried out research into what would be involved in setting up a homicide support service, and Bea met Justice Secretary Michael Matheson.
Bea said: “I gave a copy of our report to the minister.
“Scotland has lagged behind. I think they thought what they had was adequate.
“It was 12 months from us sitting down with the minister until this announcement. My response when I heard about the funding was, ‘Wow, this is wonderful.’
“We’re so pleased this has happened at last.”
Bea said each day since her daughter’s death remains a struggle but the charity’s work gave her a sense of purpose. She added: “It’s
still hard. I have my head full of something all the time. But I intend to go on with this work.”
The Scottish Government yesterday announced a £13.8million boost for Victim Support Scotland over three years. Matheson said: “Victims can feel they’re being passed from one organisation to another – adding to their trauma.
“That is why I’m announcing funding for VSS to work with criminal justice and victim support bodies to develop a new approach.”
VSS chief executive Kate Wallace said they would likely recruit new staff for the Homicide Service, which they hope to launch next year.