Family of tragic Natalie name star in her memory
THE FAMILY of murder victim Natalie Harker have said they remember her by looking at a star they named after her.
Andrew Pearson, 45, lay in wait for 30-year-old Natalie then grabbed her as she passed at about 4.40am before dragging her to his secluded tent in nearby woodland.
He then had sex with her as she lay unconscious or dying, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Pearson had denied the murder and abduction of his former partner, however he was convicted on Thursday following a three -week trial.
On Friday he was back before the court for sentencing where Judge Stephen Ashurst jailed him for life with a term of 23 years and 320 days.
In victim statements read out while her ex-boyfriend Andrew Pearson was sentenced, her parents and brother remembered the major role she had played in their close-knit family.
Chloe Fairley, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, read their statements, in which her father John said he and his daughter would have an early morning cup of tea together before she cycled off to work before dawn to clean a GP’S practice.
Mr Harker, a school bus driver, said it was “our special time together” and that he considered her his best friend. He said: “She was a hard-working, busy girl who knew the importance of money and worked to pay her way and treat herself when she wanted to.”
He was tormented by thoughts of her final moments, saying: “Was she calling out for me, was she in pain? These are questions I always ask myself.”
Last Christmas was “awful” for the family, he said, but they did buy her a present.
“We named a star after her, each night we would look up and look for her,” he said.
Ms Harker’s mother Deborah said they were very close and loved spending time together, and that her husband described them as “two peas in a pod”.
Mrs Harker’s statement added: “Natalie was taken away far too young.”
Her brother Alistair added: “I feel totally lost without Natalie, completely alone and abandoned.”
Detective Inspector Steve Menzies, of North Yorkshire Police’s Major Investigation Team, said: “The family have and continue to endure the most unimaginable pain and sense of loss.
“I praise them for the dignity and restraint that they have shown.
“No outcome at court can bring
Natalie back to them and our hearts continue to go out to them.”