HAUNTED FOREVER
‘Shaun’s death was horrific & wasteful. He lay dying with none of his family to help him. Our pain will never go away’
DAD Kevin Woodburn yesterday revealed how his “gentle” son Shaun’s death in a New Year pub brawl will haunt him forever.
As a teenager found guilty of killing Shaun
awaits sentence, Kevin spoke publicly for the first time and said his family’s heartbreak will never leave them.
Shaun, 30, only saw a few short hours of 2017– a year his father admits has been the worst of his life.
Kevin said: “There is a natural order in life and death and to lose your child before yourself is just plain wrong. It is a pain that will never go away.”
Dad-of-one Shaun, a former junior footballer, had celebrated the Bells with friends at a bar in Leith, looking forward to the year to come.
But a fatal punch by a 16-year-old boy out with a gang on a violent rampage across Edinburgh put an end to all that.
The killer, now 17, admitted assaulting five other people before the fateful confrontation outside Gladstone’s Bar in Leith. He will be sentenced next month.
To businessman Kevin’s fury, the teenage thug tried to blame Shaun for wading into the fight without provocation.
That wasn’t the Shaun he knew, said the grieving dad, “a lovely young man and a gentle soul”.
Kevin recalled: “This year since January 1 has been the worst of mine and my entire family’s life.
“To receive a phone call at two in the morning to tell you your son is in an ambulance and on his way to the hospital ‘in a bad way’ was quite frankly horrifying.
“That journey to the hospital was the worst of my life and one which will haunt me forever.
“Less than one hour later, to be told that Shaun had severe brain injuries and there was nothing that could be done to save him was indescribable.”
Struggling to come to terms with the suddenness of his son’s violent death, Kevin said there are moments that will haunt him forever.
“When Shaun was finally taken from us (after his life support was switched off ). I will never forget the screams of my mother watching her grandson being wheeled away.
“Shaun’s death was both horrific and wasteful. He died lying on the pavement alone with none of his family there to help him.
“That’s something that will haunt us forever. Shaun left behind his four-yearold daughter Riley and although she knows her daddy is in heaven, she is far too young to understand the circumstances of his death.
“We, as a family, have to help her over the years to come and make sure she knows what a wonderful young man her daddy was.
“Shaun truly was a lovely young man and a gentle soul and we had the privilege of having him in our lives.”
The family’s agony was compounded by having to go through a 17-day trial.
Kevin said: “We had to go through this procedure the whole time sitting in the same room as all of the accused and listening to every last piece of detail, which has been horrific to say the least.
“We have had to endure defence counsel interpreting evidence to try to tarnish my son and his actions that night. Nobody in that room knew the real Shaun and the type of person he was.”
He added: “During the CCTV evidence, we saw Shaun come out of the pub and do exactly what anyone who knew Shaun
at all knew what he would do – absolutely nothing. He stood with his arms folded and did not get involved. That was Shaun, a gentle person who did not go looking for trouble.
“All of a sudden, something happened which made him run over and get involved. Perhaps he saw one of his friends being hurt, we will never know.
“But to have it said Shaun launched an unprovoked attack on someone, that simply was not Shaun’s way, and something we will never accept.”
Kevin said that as well as his family, the friends who were with Shaun on the night would also bear the mental scars of his death for a long time.
He said: “Shaun”s best friends saw him lying there dying that morning and the scars of that will be with them forever.
“We will stand by them and help and support them in any way we can in the years to come.
“Many lives have changed forever. For what exactly? Because a group of individuals decided to go on a rampage over the town inflicting hurt and damage on innocent bystanders going about their night and having fun.”
Many of Shaun’s friends organised charity fundraisers in his memory. Hibs footballer Danny Swanson, a close friend who was out with him on Hogmanay, and his teammate Anthony Stokes were among the footballers who took part in charity matches.
Kevin said: “There have been various events and although each of them have been lovely in their own way, each of them have been have been full of sadness for us as a family also.
“We are extremely grateful however to every single person for organising those events.
“From Danny Swanson and Darren McGregor at Hibs – both Shaun’s friends – Leanne Dempster, the Hibs chairperson, to all at Bonnyrigg Rose and to Gerry and everyone at Leith Athletic.
“I can’t name everyone but they are just some of the people who have helped my family tremendously over the last 10 months. The support has been overwhelming.”
Kevin said he also wanted to thank the court staff, police, the witnesses and the prosecuting team for all their help and support.
He added: “My son died at the hands of an individual who had been out causing trouble all over Edinburgh, on a night he was out celebrating with friends.
“I can never forgive the actions of those involved and no matter for us what the sentence may be, there is nothing that will bring our lovely Shaun back to us.
“There is no feeling of happiness in this. We are not happy at the outcome because nothing will bring Shaun back to us. Our overriding emotion is that of relief, relief that this part of our ordeal is finally over, but our loss will live with us each day for the rest of our lives. That is our punishment.”
“We lost a father, brother, friend and son that morning and no sentence will ever change that.
“Shaun’s memory WILL live on, however, and we will all make sure that his beautiful little girl will remember her daddy and the type of young man he had become.
“A true gentleman, a great father and a loving, gentle soul who will live on forever.”
The teenage killer, who cannot be named because of his age, will be sentenced on November 8.
His co-accused, 19-year-old Mohammed Zakariyah, had his plea of not guilty to murder accepted.
He will be sentenced at the same time for two assaults and a breach of the peace.
I will never forget my mum’s screams for her grandson when we lost him KEVIN