‘Libby was in the best place in her life she had ever been’
LISA SQUIRE REMEMBERS ‘CARING’ LIBBY
THEY are widely regarded as some of the best times of your life and Libby Squire was certainly enjoying her time at university.
The 21-year-old was regarded by friends at the University of Hull as smart, funloving and outgoing and never more so than on the evening before she disappeared.
But Libby also had a troubled past, battling issues over her mental health, which would sadly be brought as evidence in defence of Pawel Relowicz when he stood trial for her rape and murder.
Libby was a doting big sister to her brother and two sisters and grew up in the village West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire alongside her mum Lisa and dad Russell.
Libby vanished in the early hours of February 1, 2019, which sparked a huge search. Her body was found on March 20 that year off Spurn Point.
Relowicz has now been found guilty of her rape and murder after a two-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
While tributes had previously been paid to Libby, her mum Lisa provided a heart-breaking statement during the trial.
“I love all of my children dearly, but there is no denying Libby and I shared a special bond,” Lisa said. “We were that in sync with each other I would describe us as being as one. She was very close with all of her siblings, but had a very special bond with her brother Joe.
“At school she made a good set of friends, who she stayed in contact with until her death. She always worked hard and was always very organised with homework.”
It was into her mid-teens that Libby began to struggle with her mental health.
She had been a good school student, and in 2014 for her GCSES secured five A* grades, 2 As and a C. She decided to go to college to complete her A-levels, but her mental health now started to cause problems with her studying.
For her A-level exams she managed two D grades and one U. However, it was still enough to go to university and she chose Hull. “She liked the city and what the
Lisa Squire university had to offer,” said mum Lisa.
Her mum revealed Libby had spoken about a possible career path into journalism.
“I was reluctant about her going away to university, but she was adamant,” Lisa said. “She took a gap year before and travelled, going to Paris. She said she always wanted to go back there. She worked hard on her mental health and was in a really good place when she went to university.”
Libby was 19 when she arrived in Hull and “loved life” there and “worked really hard” her mum said.
But Lisa was also honest about the effects alcohol could have on her eldest daughter.
“She enjoyed nights out and drinking, but was very much against drugs,” Lisa said.
“I have regularly collected her from parties and had to carry her into the house. She had previously damaged and lost mobile telephones so she got into the habit of not taking it out with her if she knew she was going out drinking as she didn’t want to lose or damage it.
“For Libby to have a mobile it would be just to contact me or her friends. She only used these sites to contact friends and was a very private person.”
“Libby liked things in order and took pride in everything, including her handwriting.
She never took having anything for granted. She was always funny and had a wicked sense of humour.
“She was always very creative and chatty and had an ability to put people at ease, she made people feel included.”
Lisa revealed a childhood illness seemed to have a profound effect on Libby and she later developed mental health problems.
“As a child aged around 11 Libby suffered with glandular fever,” she said. “It had an effect on her and she wasn’t herself after. During her teenage years she suffered with mental health issues.
“She was always considerate of other people’s feelings. Her friend suffered with an eating disorder at 13 years old and Libby wanted to support her friend. But she also began to suffer from a similar disorder.
“When she suffered with her mental health she became depressed and a symptom was self-harm, which she began when she was 14. It was during this time our bond became stronger. She was always honest with me regarding her self-harm. I helped her dress her wounds and made sure she had antiseptic wipes and plasters.”
In her statement Lisa said Libby was looking forward to returning to university in Hull.
“She was planning her future and was in the best place in her life she had ever been,” Lisa said.
In a statement read out at the court, Libby’s boyfriend Connor thought they would be together for the rest of their lives
The pair had been in a relationship since the summer of 2016.
“Libby was not in a good place with her mental health when we first got together,” he admitted. “I would say we were more like friends the first few months. We would see each other once or twice a week. When we did see each other we would hang out at each other’s houses or go out to eat.
“She was a very interesting person. The more I got to know her the more interested I became. Since she went to university, we got closer and the relationship got a lot stronger.
“We had plans to be with each other for the rest of our lives. I know that is easy to say at my age, but I know she is the person for me. We spoke about marriage and children.”
Connor said: “Libby is one of the kindest people I know,” he said. “She would take other people’s problems and try and make them better. She was popular and you would struggle to find anyone that didn’t like her. She was happy with me and her friends said it was the happiest they had seen her.”