My car was vandalised on the day I called for retrial of killers, says Pc Harper’s widow
THE widow of Pc Andrew Harper, who was killed by a gang of thieves a year ago, has revealed that her car was vandalised on the day she called for them to face a retrial.
Lissie Harper, 29, said the incident happened hours after three teenagers were cleared of her husband’s murder but convicted of his manslaughter.
Following the verdicts, Mrs Harper spoke out and appealed for the gang to face a retrial due to allegations of jury tampering. But when she returned home from the Old Bailey she discovered that her car had been damaged and she suspects that it was due to her comments on the trial.
She said: “There were allegations that the killers’ relatives were intimidating jurors during the trial and then, on the day they were acquitted of murder, when I requested a retrial, my car was keyed.
“I can’t be sure who did that but I do know that Andrew’s killers and their supporters would probably rather I faded quietly into the background. But I’ve no intention of doing that.”
Mrs Harper – who had only been married for four weeks when her husband was dragged to his death behind a speeding getaway car on the night of Aug 15 2019 – also revealed that his wedding ring had never been found.
She told the that because of the devastating injuries her husband sustained, she had been unable to see his body after his death.
She explained: “I sat beside his closed coffin in the chapel of rest and told him that I loved him, that everything would be OK, and one day we’d be together again.
“I asked if I could have his wedding ring because I wanted to wear it on a chain around my neck, but they couldn’t find it.’”
Instead, she wears a gold bracelet engraved with the words “I love you Lissie” in Pc Harper’s handwriting that her sister copied from the notes he wrote for his wedding speech.
To mark the first anniversary of his death, Mrs Harper has launched a campaign to bring about the introduction of Harper’s Law, which would mean anyone convicted of killing an onduty emergency worker would automatically receive a life sentence.