Murder of Sophie Lancaster | Morbid | Podcast | Forensic Files

hey weirdos I'm Elena and I'm Ash and this is morbid [Music] whoa hey new hello what's up girly pop
hello we saw some of you last week in New York City in the Big Apple baby and you guys were delightful and awesome it
was so fun to talk about the book with you guys and I got to have Ash there because she's my you know emotional
support Ash yeah I take her everywhere no matter what a teacher everywhere no matter what but it was really cool to
see you guys and you were awesome and you were such a fun audience and it was cool to be on stage again yeah it was so
good to see you guys yeah and thank you for all the people that gave us gifts oh
my God that was so nice people gave us sunflowers we got crystals the kindest we got a bunch of Taylor Swift bracelets
some cool notes that were just really kind of Nice Notes yeah um cool cards I was just really thrown back by all the
people that gave us their Taylor Swift bracelets because I think those things are like [ __ ] important yeah I had no
idea so I'm it's like a love language between swifties as far as I'm told so I'm feeling the love and I hope you guys
are dug the uh the sneak peek yeah book two in your paperbacks it's cool that you get to read it now
you're all part of the club now yeah with Ash I feel weird I feel like I feel like my club was taken from me in an
instant no now it's just a warm fuzzy Club of people no I'm kidding I'm I'm like pretty stoked that you guys got to
read that because that's a bomb ass chapter and fun fact I've read uh a whole bunch of the second yeah that you
have it's [ __ ] terrifying yippee what did I say we should put on the front of it as a quote from me not actually that
you sometimes you're terrified to be in my Orbit yes I said I'm very terrified to be in Elena's inner orbit and she's
my sister um I like that I'm also gonna start carrying a note around in my pocket and
I told John that he should probably do the same okay I like that I love that effect I have on you guys you're welcome
but thank you I don't know you're welcome today I have a very very very tragic case
um this is the case of Sophie Lancaster if you've never heard this one it's like
I said very tragic and if you had then you know a very sad tale I know the background of this one and it is a
horrifying story it's gut-wrenching yeah I think it's honestly like a really important story to tell as are all of
the stories that we tell and I think we should just dive into it yeah so Sophie Lancaster was born November 26 1986 to
John and Sylvia Lancaster in the Rosendale borough of Lancashire England and I looked up how to say that good job
thank you at the time it was not necessarily the best place to live in the world uh Rosendale was being hit
hard by a dwindling economy the area was falling into a bit of disrepair just like not the best Vibes but Sophie's
family which was made up of her her parents and her older brother Adam they had a really happy life together like a
core 4 home unit kind of thing oh Sylvia Sophie's mother said that Sophie was so
intelligent and sensitive and she told reporters how much Sophie loved to read how she was interested in social justice
issues and she just really wanted to be involved in making the world a better place for everybody in it which is so
much more tragic truly uh Sylvia Sophie's mom she worked with kids so she was pretty familiar
with all the different kind of phases that kids go through while they're growing up so it really didn't come as
any surprise to her when Sophie started you know dressing differently than other
kids at her school and started getting more into heavy metal and kind of hard rock music good for her yeah she was
just like it's par for the course and Sylvia said as Sophie entered high school and kind of entered this
quote-unquote phase which really wasn't a face that she quote knew it was her way of marking herself out as an
individual what a cool mom yeah what a cool mom what a cool kid yeah you know that's really cool it is and obviously
she felt very very supported to be able to like confidently go forth like that it definitely seems like it and luckily
eventually Sophie did meet other kids who shared her same interests and her taste in music and that was when she
really leaned more into what you I guess you would call The Goth aesthetic she loved to wear a quote a long black
leather coat and Lace gloves and tops oh hell yeah and I love that like she made
it her own what a cool chick yeah like with the lace gloves yeah nice little touch and then from there her style
choices evolved and eventually she would you know dye her hair all different kinds of colors she would add like
facial piercings that were cool she I saw a picture she was so cool she's a cool [ __ ] chick so some parents might
have worried about you know the dark clothing the heavy makeup I remember when I started wearing eyeliner in my in
black nail polish my dad was actually very concerned which is really funny to think about now hi Dad yeah um and you
know parents might like fight against that kind of thing yeah but Sophie's parents Sylvia and John they really
didn't think much of it because they're cool cool parents she's just expressing herself and we're happy that she feels
comfortable doing that she's not hurting anyone she's not hurting herself yeah and actually they gave her credit they
were proud of her for being so comfortable asserting her individuality especially at such a time in her life
where she was probably going to be judged for doing it you know Sylvia and John yeah forever but still according to
Sylvia Sophie was a quote unquote typical rebellious teen and of course they would find themselves in arguments
just like any other mother or teenage daughter teenage son or whatever have you they would fight over small
infractions like sneaking out to concerts and that kind of thing yeah the huge so Sophie eventually met a guy
named Robert Maltby through her friend group and that was when she was in her junior year of high school and they just
hit it off almost instantly by all accounts they shared the same taste in music they shared fashion choices
together and they both had really thoughtful sensitive personalities oh and it seems like Rob was pretty
welcomed by Sophie's family not just her friends her family as well Sylvia said they were such a sweet couple and they
were totally devoted to one another oh my God that is like like this was a young beautiful love oh it hurts so Rob
and Sophie quickly became Inseparable and Sophie actually kind of became Rob's artistic Muse I'm loving this it's it's
beautiful he would paint one portrait after another of Sophie that Sylvia actually displayed in her in her home
until she passed away oh my in 2022. that is heart-wrenching and if you look them up he's an incredibly talented
artist these are like beautiful paintings Rob told the guardian in 2017 we'd see friends at weekends but day to
day it was just the two of us it was always just Rob and Sophie oh I love love so much I love that now Sophie and
Rob had found some Solace and support in each other because you know they could bounce ideas off of each other they had
these similar tastes they had a deep connection and love for each other but that didn't mean that they didn't still
deal with a ton of discrimination and abuse because of their interests and their appearances
and particularly in the relatively working-class suburbs of Rosendale they were different and people didn't like
that that's ridiculous it's basically just that they didn't go along with the with the grain so Sylvia remembered that
Sophie had a lot of problems at school when it came to fitting in the other kids girls especially and we all know
how girls are in high school yeah it can be tough it can be very tough and these
were the kind that weren't into like the goth thing that Sophie was into they treated her just like she was [ __ ] they
treated her like a weirdo because it's threatening to see somebody so confidently being themselves it is
because you cannot people like that don't know who they are yet nope at all nope and so Sophie did have feelings of
isolation but at the same time she did know who she was and like I said was confident in that yeah she wasn't like
those other kids and she really didn't want to be yeah she was somebody who actually became vegan when she was six
years old she started getting into the goth and metal scene when she was 11 and she was really open when it came to
talking about what she found interesting hell yeah because sometimes like kids at
that age they can squash you from expressing any kind of passionate like for something because you feel like
they're like oh you're such a nerd you're such a geek you're into that so much like so you're just like squash all
that it's cool that she was just like no yeah let her personality and everything
about her just shine through but unfortunately her confidence in herself did not save her or Rob from
some pretty shitty and horrible situations they both had been subject to verbal abuse people yelling rude
comments at them and sometimes it would actually escalate into minor physical violence imagine giving a [ __ ] that hard
no about what somebody else is doing that affects you in no way no whatsoever couldn't be me honey like what what a
weird creature these people are like it's so weird no it really is but luckily they both fell back on their
confidence and I would say probably their love for one another like they had each other and it wasn't like a
relationship where it's like it's us against the world it was just this beautiful they support each other and
they supported each other exactly and so they just kept on expressing themselves
freely now in 2007 Sophie and Rob actually moved in together into a small apartment
in Bay cup a small town in Rosendale Rob had just started her excuse me his first
year at Manchester School of Art and he was working towards a degree in illustration oh cool [ __ ] cool and
Sophie she had decided to take a gap year but she was looking forward to starting work on an English degree the
next year so they had plans just artistes artists and they had plans they had a really promising future ahead of
that they were actually even starting to talk about getting married like just planning their life together and it
seems like they really were bent for each other yeah absolutely but all their plans for their future Came Crashing
Down in the early morning hours of August 11 2007 because of some of the world's most disgusting monsters awesome
so on Friday August 10 2007 Sophie and Rob actually went to just go hang out with a friend they went to visit their
friend Jonathan in Britannia the three made plans for a nine o'clock or four nine o'clock and spent about two and a
half hours at Jonathan's apartment just having a drink Watson watching some TV just hanging out with friends and then
after that Sophie and Rob headed home a little after 11 30 pm and at about midnight they stopped into
an all-night service station because Rob wanted to buy some cigarettes and then on the way out or while they were there
actually they ran into some kids that they knew chatted for a bit and then walked as a group to a nearby section of
bay cup known as the Fudge Factory okay which is actually a reference to an old candy company that had once occupied the
law oh that's cool it made me think of Willy Wonka the Chocolate Factory but after spending about 20 or so minutes
just chatting with their friends there Sophie and Rob said their goodbyes and they continued on their way home and
they were going to walk through stubby Lee Park okay at about 1 10 a.m Sophie and Rob came up Upon A group of
teenagers including 15 year old Brendan Harris 16 year old Ryan Herbert brothers
Joseph and Danny Holm I think it's how you say it they were 16 and 15 respectively and 17 year old Daniel
Mallett remember those ages these are all young kids children not even one of them is 18.
now these five boys referred to themselves as the bay cup terror group wow super scary and they had previously
been at a local cafe and arcade known as the cage where they each had around four
pints of lager and did shots of peach schnapps okay so they were loaded no just before Robin uh Sophie had entered
stubby Lee Park this group of teens had made their way down to the skate park with a bunch of other people and that
skate park was near the center of the park and that is exactly where they were all hanging out when Rob and Sophie
walked by just minding their own [ __ ] business walking home walking home so Rob felt a little bit nervous because
one of the boys approached him and asked for a cigarette and it just something about it I think his flight or flight or
fight senses just kicked in yeah like couldn't explain it but just like it's got a Vibe got a Vibe exactly he had a
feeling that they should just keep going but being a nice guy he stopped and as he reached for his pack this 14 year old
girl who was with a group overheard one of the boys say shall we batter him what the [ __ ] just giving someone a
cigarette just stops like like super fast and then out of nowhere shall we batter him I don't like nothing better
to do species the human species truly gets worse and worse every day aliens take me away truly then not actually
though then without any warning or any kind of provoking Brendan Harris stepped forward and just slapped Rob across the
face what a tough guy you just slapped him yeah so it caught Rob off guard and honestly probably out of just sheer
confusion he laughed of course she was you're just like what the [ __ ] is your pathetic you piece of [ __ ] like you
literally just stepped forward and slapped me in the face and he was probably just like with no warning like
you idiot yeah like taken off guard and just like what the [ __ ] are you doing so as soon as he laughed the other four
boys in the terror gang lost it oh no they can't handle someone laughing at them no no even more pathetic truly and
um I just want to say this is when it gets particularly graphic so if this is something you want to skip by I totally
understand it's really violent so somebody jumped down from one of the skate ramps and kicked Rob in the head
knocking him to the ground what the [ __ ] and this is just out of nowhere they just walked through they just walked
through and stopped to give someone a cigarette to do something for someone like
so scary it's so scary so he fell to the ground and once he was on the ground they all of them just started beating
him relentlessly they were laughing they were taunting Sophie and Rob as they just kicked and punched him punched him
over and over and over again and he's laying on the ground trying to protect himself
so Sophie obviously runs over to Rob's side and yells at this group to just leave them alone she's like stop
but that only further encouraged these sick [ __ ] and they turned on Sophie a woman
who [ __ ] raised these animals um probably not great parents and I feel confident saying not because we'll get
to it later yeah those are [ __ ] animals animals and and the other thing is it's like where are your parents
you're 15 16 17 years old in the middle of the night just at a skate park like we're violently beating people like as
they pass through like what the hell is wrong if you want to be at a skate park skating in the middle of the night sure
that's your prerogative leave everybody alone exactly mind your [ __ ] business so one witness a 15 year old boy who was
there and tried to get them to stop because it's the it's this group of teenagers but then it's like just some
other teenagers at the state park and watching this like oh my god what the [ __ ] is thank goodness somebody tried to
get them to stop like that was pretty brave of that other like 15 year old multiple people did actually and this
one like I said 15 year old boy he just yelled at uh he tried he yelled at them trying to get them to stop and he later
said they were running over and just kicking her in the head and jumping up and down on her head what the [ __ ] out
of nowhere they did this to this couple oh my God another girl among the group later told detectives I started crying
because I'd never seen anything like that they were all just booting them they were making loads of noises
screaming noises they were booting them in the head swinging the leg back properly booting them like jumping on
them like animals honestly not even I was just gonna say not even animals will do
this not even animals exactly holy [ __ ] the attack on Sophie and Rob lasted a few minutes but it must have felt like
hours for them because I I I've never heard of anything like this I can't believe this like this is just so oh
it's it's sickening it's like it truly is truly so once they decided that they were done the boys just casually walked
out of the park and left Rob and Sophie laying completely brutalized unconscious
on the ground what months later a witness would describe them to the jury the the teenagers as
quote behaving in a giddy way hyperactive and bouncing around doing silly things as they left
I I have no words it's not even Humane it's not even animalistic I don't even know how to describe it I don't and as
they left the park one of the attackers stopped a boy going in and told him they
had just beaten up two people in the park and then another in the group chimed in you want to see them they're a
right mess like ah and then they gave the boy Rob's phone which they had stolen from his
unconscious body and then just left the park altogether just went about their night after
leaving two people they didn't even know if they were dead or alive these kids need to be caged up and like throw away
that key throw it like that is some unhinged Beyond if you're capable this is one of
those things where obvious obviously this is not in the U.S but and while I was doing this I was thinking like oh my
God what if they get out because of that whole Constitution thing and then I was
like oh wait it's not in the U.S even here I'm like if you can do this at any age this is like a young level of
violence and a level of like there was no provocation here none whatsoever that wouldn't even be okay with provocation
no but the fact that these kids are just walking through the park and this happens right like that's something you
can't like you can't take that out of someone like that's that's scary that's that's inside you and that is deep
rooted and I know how do you work through that no you don't I don't think that is that's beyond now even though
the boys who had attacked Sophie and Rob had left the park there were several teenagers still remaining at the scene
just in absolute shock multiple of of those people called it for an ambulance the first call was placed at 1 17 am and
the second 1 19 a.m and the calls for an ambulance triggered an alert to the local police with a message assault in a
park in in a park Park Road sorry possibly near a skate park so they didn't have a legit location while
police and ambulance services tried to locate the scene of the attack more calls were placed to Emergency Services
because they were like where are you like you have to get here another one at 1 23 a.m and then finally another one at
1 29 a.m thank goodness these kids are calling yeah seriously you know like thank goodness they stepped up and like
did because I mean there's adults that won't intervene even enough to call an ambulance you know what I mean so I'm
glad that they all came together and we're like we got to get somebody here for sure so Jonathan the friend that
Sophie and Rob had spent the night with hanging out that very night he was woken
up by his phone ringing at about 1 30 a.m and he saw that the call was coming from Rob's cell phone so he answered
right away of course but heard nothing on the other end and he just hung up after a minute or two probably assumed
that it was like a butt dial yeah but he after he hung up texted Rob's phone to be like hey like you good man but he
didn't get any kind of response the phone ringing again about a half hour later and this time when Jonathan
answered the call The Voice on the other end was not Rob's it was a teenage boy who said have you got two friends down
in baycup park and the caller told Jonathan there's two moshers here and they look like they're
dead holy [ __ ] before just hanging up the phone oh man that just gave me chills so
Jonathan rushed down to the nearby park and he obviously found it was filled with police and emergency service
workers but no one would tell him anything because they just couldn't in that moment but he's looking on hearing
like that his friends were just attacked and look like they're dead and he can't
have any way of finding out what happens so paramedics did arrive at stubby Lee Park at 1 20 in the morning and they
were absolutely shocked to find Rob and Sophie in the state that they were in they both suffered obviously severe
injuries to their heads and faces and quote were so badly beaten police had difficulty establishing their sex oh God
so they were rushed to uh I believe it's roachdale infirmary where they both received emergency care and were
stabilized luckily before being transferred to larger hospitals for inpatient care Rob got transferred to
North Manchester General Hospital and Sophie to Fairfield Hospital they both had serious trauma they were
unrecognizable to their families I can't even imagine this but at the same time their injuries were not considered to be
life-threatening at that point so while they both arrived at the Rochdale or Rochelle infirmary in an unconscious
State they actually were both expected to recover oh God so the extent to their injuries was just
like unimaginable you can't even begin to Fathom the state that they were in like I said they had both been beaten
severely about their face and head so there was really really intense very serious swelling which would have been
horrifying for anybody knowing them like their family members to see I can't and
their parents can you imagine seeing your baby like that I can't I can't either and they were also they had been
bleeding from their ears and noses that's how bad it was Rob suffered internal bleeding and bleeding on the
brain and Sophie this is horrific had deep boot Impressions on her face and this is very graphic had quote a piece
of Flesh missing from her head where her attackers were are believed to have yanked her hair out
animals not only the scariest monsters like I can't even this is outrageous you would this is one
of those things where you say you'd see it in a movie yeah now for families too like I just like
truly have to see your loved one like that this is beyond your worst nightmare your brain I don't even think could come
up with this on its own I hope now once the pair had been stabilized Jonathan the friend was brought to the roachdale
infirmary and he was actually asked to identify Rob oh my God but he was not allowed to see Sophie at that current
time you need to know exactly so because the dispatcher hadn't been able to provide a
precise location the police actually initially went to a different location they went to Park Road and Edge Edge
side and then they were redirected to stubby Lee Park where they arrived at 1 45 a.m that's tough that's really tough
that's a big span of time it is now initially the remaining teenagers at the scene were being sketchy and they didn't
want to talk to investigators so the motive for the brutal attack wasn't obvious because there is no more
there isn't one but because some personal belongings were missing specifically Rob's cell phone detectives
considered that actually a robbery might have been what prompted this assault because of course the police are looking
at this and they're like something had to have started this like how does this just happen out of nowhere
but after interviewing several witnesses They concluded quote the two people who
were attacked followed the gothic Trend and potentially this could have been a motive
that's not a motive that's not enough you're a piece of [ __ ] Gothic yeah now luckily even though some of the
witnesses at the scene weren't comfortable disclosing any information a few were willing to tell the detectives
what happened and they actually identified three of the five boys responsible for the interview
so by late morning police had begun rounding up those that they believed to be responsible for the attack on Rob and
Sophie starting with Ryan Ryan Herbert the arrest of Herbert was followed a couple hours later by the arrests of
Brendan Harris and Daniel Mallet and then detectives would arrest Danny Holm at his parents house the following day
and his brother Joseph would later turn himself into police a few hours later yeah I bet you did yes scared little boy
now the following day Monday August 13th all five were brought before Burnley magistrates Court where they were each
charged with two counts of Grievous bodily harm with intent no on Wednesday August 22nd Rob maltby's
condition had actually improved to the point where he woke from his clothes wow because he was in a coma but now he was
stable enough to visit Sophie in her hospital so he was able to visit her and then he was transferred to a hospital
closer to his parents house so that they could you know take care of him I can't
imagine having to see somebody you've been having to see her no that poor oh I'm sure he probably wanted
to but you almost wish that he didn't have to see her like that you know like oh but then at the same time what your
brain could come up with I guess could I just feel for him on every level you can
feel for him you you do you really do so detectives they were really hopeful actually that now that Rob was awake and
no longer in a coma but he would be able to fill in some of the blanks in any kind of missing information about the
night that they were attacked but again he just woke up from a coma after considerable brain trauma so he was
quote disoriented and confused and he actually didn't really remember much from the attack which
I'm grateful that he doesn't have to remember that like I feel like I remember that the fact that they caused
that much brain trauma that is that's that's so significant like it is hard to cause that much trauma oh yeah
his life has changed forever in so many different ways because of these five [ __ ] pricks you can't even like no
nothing you call them is satisfying exactly because they're they're not evil they're beyond truly but unfortunately
his memory seemed actually to be even worse once he was taking off taking off the sedatives that he'd been given early
on according to one of the nurses tending to him Rob was very restless difficult to speak to very repetitive
and disoriented oh his brain had just gone through so much so so much like incomprehensible so the police continued
to work in the background and they were particularly interested in why Rob and Sophie actually went through stubby Lee
Park to get home because they only lived a little over a mile from their friend and they could have taken a more direct
route back to their apartment but according to their friend Jonathan it really wasn't that unusual for Sophie
and Rob to take a long way home late at night because Rob and Sophie enjoyed that time of day of course and they just
like spending time with each other like a nice nighttime walk and they should be
able to place where you can go on a nice night time through a park through a park
yeah exactly like a an area there's other people bopping about they should have been safe
but other than that nobody came up with an alternative explanation because that's good enough that's the thing
people take Scenic Roots all the time just to spend more time together especially as a couple who clearly
enjoyed their time together all the time like they like the nighttime they're night owls they wanted to just walk
through the park together like and they should have been able to do that tells me so the case ended up being assigned
to detect detective inspector Dean Holden and he immediately recognized several of these names of the boys
who've been implicated because they're little pieces of [ __ ] anyway they are pieces of [ __ ] yeah according to
inspector Holden Ryan Herbert was a local Menace local prick Ryan Herbert yeah known for years as a bully at
school and a bully in the neighborhood where he lives that's that kid he came from a large family and several members
of said family were also well known to the police and police knew that he would act out aggressively or inappropriately
to get attention wow now like Ryan Herbert Brendan Harris was also a local troublemaker and very well known
actually weeks before this attack 15 year old please remember the ages here 15 year old Harris had transferred
schools due to his behavior and he was often barred from clubs and establishments for aggressive or
inappropriate behavior then let's not uh figure this out before they hurt someone
no never yeah at school and inside his Social Circle he was known as a bully Who quote would pick on others he
labeled as Geeks oh [ __ ] these two you're a [ __ ] dick if anybody's a geek how pathetic how pathetic truly
brothers Joseph and Danny Holm lived at a traveler site in Bay cup where they shared a trailer next to their parents
so they lived on their own with one another just right next to their parents people were not shocked to hear that
Joseph was involved in the attacks on Sophie and Rob he had quite a reputation for himself he was actually the leader
of the bay cup terror group self-proclaimed I'm sure but people knew he was a very scary kid but they were
actually very surprised that his younger brother Danny had also been involved involved in the attack sounds like Danny
was just taking all along yeah and that's not the kind of thing you want to follow nope like what the [ __ ] did you
get yourself into here this was your time to actually do something I was just gonna say this would have been your time
to like stand up on your own exactly but he didn't nope uh so he wasn't the only
one who surprised the Danny there wasn't the only one who surprised the public by
being involved according to Catherine Smith who was the editor of the Rosendale Free Press at the time Daniel
Mallett was quote the pr in that this is a different Daniel he was the LA the person least expected to be involved in
a crime of this Nature by most accounts Daniel was a fairly good student actually his parents had divorced a few
years earlier but they maintained a good relationship and they were a pretty stable family unit that's scary that's
so scary but there were a pretty good number of Daniel's classmates that had noticed some recent changes in his
personality starting about a year or two earlier they said that he started to show quote unquote Tendencies that's
really scary out of nowhere now with the public starting to learn more about the case back at the hospital
after nearly two weeks in a coma with no signs of Life at this point my God Sophie Lancaster had to be taken off
life support on Friday August 24th 2007. that's horrific so because she is murdered she'd been killed her death
escalated the assault now to a case of murder and the Lancashire police made a statement saying the charges will be
reviewed with the crown prosecution service a murder charge is an option for all five of the youths yeah charge them
all charge them so two weeks later all five were again brought before Burnley magistrates court and they were charged
with the murder of Sophie Lancaster rightfully so glad so I'm so happy that there wasn't anything to like [ __ ] [ __ ]
with that yeah so to quite literally um nobody's surprise throughout their interviews with the police all five of
the boys either claimed that they didn't participate in the assault or they just
pulled the pointed fingers at the others for the bulk of the response Oh no you're not guys anymore huh no not so
big now they're little boys yeah the first two times that Joseph whom who again was said to be the leader of the
game was interviewed he blamed everybody else for the attack that's what a good leader does yeah just turn on your
friends yep not so big and tough now no but the police wanted to know if he wasn't involved then why were his
fingerprints frowned on Rob's cell phone pretty weird yeah now at his third interview he gave the officers a
prepared statement claiming his fingerprints were found on the phone because another teenager had handed it
to him as they entered the park and asked him if he wanted it and he looked it over but declined yeah I just turned
it over in my hand and then I gave it back you're a [ __ ] idiot like an idioter or just um tell the [ __ ]
truth how about that now when Joseph Joseph's brother Danny was interviewed he also denied any
involvement and he blamed the entire assault on Ryan Herbert in fact in Danny's version of events he
claimed that he quote tried to save Sophie by pulling Ryan Herbert off of her you know what it would have been
like the sickest way to save someone calling the police in an ambulance immediately upon the start of this if
you were trying to stop it immediately yeah yeah because you uh didn't try that job dude good try Danny I like the Holm
Brothers Daniel Mallett faced multiple interviews in a short amount of time and in each interview he admitted to only
punching Rob one time that's so weird I don't know how any of the others it's almost like even that is [ __ ] yeah
somebody randomly for no [ __ ] reason for walking through a park you're still a piece of [ __ ] I just only punched him
once yeah I just punched him just for walking yeah and then you watched and con and joined in as you murdered his
girlfriends and your friends did ridiculous so he denied any involvement in laying a finger on Sophie he said he
had nothing to do with that he also blamed Brendan Harris and Ryan Herbert for the entire assault on Sophie now
meanwhile in his interviews Brendan Harris he repeated a prepared statement which essentially pinned the entire
killing on Ryan Herbert who was refusing to answer any questions from investigators I think Ryan sounds like
he played the biggest part and Ryan certainly sounds like uh the issue here but everybody was involved absolutely to
be clear now even before any of the details about the attack on Rob and Sophie were made
public the assault prompted a ton of different shocked and outraged responses from the media and just anybody who was
hearing about this some people directed their frustrations toward the bay cuptown government they were complaining
that stubby Lee Park had become quote drunk violent yobs and a yob is a rude noisy and aggressive young person okay
so they were like basically the park is full of little [ __ ] to make everybody's lives miserable and they
made comments like quote if we had a park range if we had Park Rangers then maybe this tragedy might not have
happened yeah solid point I do need something there yeah especially if the park is going to
be open that late yeah and there's nobody there monitoring it yeah there's several layers here yeah exactly now
others directed their criticisms just more broadly at society as a whole one resident told reporters I think the real
issue is why these teenagers were allowed to be out in the early hours of the morning unsupervised and drinking
alcohol true yep but regardless of where people place to the blame they all agreed that the attack in the park was
just further evidence of a national problem of increased violence from what they were calling disgruntled young
people that's the thing it is it and especially during that time that's scary it is scary because they were like what
the [ __ ] is going on here like we need to get some programs instilled in this city we need to get some Park Rangers
put at the park yeah clearly an overhaul needs to be happening here on every level precisely all the way down to home
and all the way down yes exactly even at home yeah so the attack on Rob and Sophie happened at a moment in UK
politics actually where people were getting more and more concerned with what then Prime Minister David Cameron
referred to as quote unquote are broken Society now prime minister Cameron's point about the broken Society was
mostly actually focused on a series of unconnected crimes that were happening throughout the UK where children had
committed shocking acts of violence just like the one talking about so scary against other children and even against
adults and he he was correct there definitely was an issue regarding violence especially when you hear that
on the night that Rob was attacked and Sophie was murdered three teenagers in Cheshire kicked this man named Gary new
love to death in front of his family after a night of binge dreaming what the [ __ ] the same night a man was kicked to
death in front of his family and then just a few weeks later a teenager in Liverpool was shot and killed by an 11
year old named Rhys Jones after mistaking him for a rival gang member what 11 11 years old I actually I'm like
covered in Showbox and then several months after everything we've already talked about at this point three
teenagers stabbed another boy to death in London after a minor argument between their friends oh my God so everybody was
getting really really nervous about what the [ __ ] was going on here seriously so
prime minister Cameron's comments about a broken Britain they became an important Talking part excuse me talking
point and a push for increased law enforcement and social restrictions yeah but even outside of the political
Spotlight the attack the attack and murder of Sophie and attack on Rob was triggering new discussions about the
effects of intolerance on all communities in UK and everything all throughout the world yeah when details
of the attacker's whole anti-goth motive began kind of circulating amongst the press That's when Sophie's death took on
a greater significance especially for activists that were promoting tolerance yeah so there was a lot of different
social issues connected to this at this point for sure now by the end of 2007 Sylvia Sophie's mom had actually
established Stamp Out Prejudice hatred and intolerance everywhere which the acronym for that if you didn't notice is
Sophie again Stamp Out Prejudice hatred and intolerance everywhere I love the Sophie it was a non-profit organization
dedicated to raising awareness of the effects of hate crimes and advocating for policy changes the fact that this
woman was able to do that by the end of the year that her she had lost her daughter her only daughter she is a
badass yeah so through social media lecture campaigns branded items like wristbands t-shirts Sophie still works
to promote quote a greater understanding and acceptance of all people oh and that
was that that was Sylvia's Mission but it also seems like that was Sophie's yeah that was like when she was here you
know within weeks of her death the social media Pages for the organization had attracted thousands of followers
everyone was offering condolences people were sharing stories of their own experiences with intolerance
and the organization and its message held special significance among the heavy metal in the goth music scenes in
particular because those people were constantly aware of the abuse and violence that had been directed at
Sophie and Rob because they've gone through it themselves that's awful and then it went National like or national
internationally it went International across the world it did across the world musicians artists fans everybody they
were writing songs they were creating memorials in places like Bay cup and uh Whitby where the annual goth weekend is
held loved that there were still all kinds of Memorial signs up for Sophie there were commemorative benches other
installations like this was nothing going away no so in the years since her death tributes
to Sophie and the commemoration of her her memory have only grown they grow and grow and grow every year now there's
actually high profile memorials at events like bloodstock open air which is an annual British heavy metal festival
that's amazing and thousands of people attend that Festival every year so it's so cool Sophie's Legacy lives on and you
know she loves that oh like that and she deserves she deserves that to be taken from this world at such a young age and
with her whole lifeless [ __ ] ever and her whole life and like plans ahead of her you know it's nice to see that she
can live on through in some way exactly now Sylvia her mom was determined that her daughter's death would not be
meaningless but at the same time she also didn't want Sophie to become a martyr so Sophie campaign manager Kate
Conboy Greenwood told reporters Martyrs choose what they do but Sophie had no choice in the horrible way she died
that's the thing she did not want to be here she did not want like like we just said like she would love to see all
those you know that's how she's being a memorialist but she she didn't want that
no she wanted she wanted to be there she had gold Festival she didn't want to be
you know the center of a memorial there like it's amazing that that's happening but it shouldn't she didn't ask for this
no so instead of being remembered for how or why she died Sylvia and everybody at
Sophie they worked tirelessly to make sure that Sophie's life served as a platform for spreading a message of
Tolerance and acceptance and I just think that's really yeah amazing that they were able to do that for sure so
back to the case here as family and friends began the work of promoting Sophie's memory and Legacy the police in
Bay cup continued the slow methodical work of interviewing more than a hundred people who had come forward with new
information detective inspector Dean Holden told the Press I'm grateful for the positive reporting we've received
and according to him because so many of the witnesses and others with information were children the interview
processes required additional time because there was a lot of different protocol that had to be followed and
that wasn't usually required in the process of interviewing adults this was like consent and all that right this is
a very different case and a very different way of investigating but still the turnout of information actually had
been surprisingly good it's great useful yeah and investigators were working on a
strong case against Rob and Sophie's attackers so in January 2008 all five boys appeared before a judge at the Crown
Court in Preston excuse me Crown Court at Preston in Lancashire where they all pleaded not guilty to the
charge of Murder in the case of Sophie Lancaster as well as not guilty to the charge of Grievous bodily harm in the
case of Rob Maltby and Sophie Lancaster wow okay it's like you're gonna do everything that you did to them and you
know you did that and you're not even going to take responsibility you're not even going to take responsibility like
how [ __ ] low are you yeah so since their arrest Daniel Mallet and the whole Brothers they had actually been released
on bail wow into the custody of their parents and we're expected to adhere to a 9 p.m 9 pm that's what I said okay I'm
glad I wasn't crazy 9pm they can go troll about the streets until 9 pm I know that you uh murdered an entire
person and attacked two people but uh what though just be home by nine damn are you kidding holy [ __ ] and the
other stipulation was that they were not to have contact with any Witnesses in the case oh yeah I'm sure they adhere to
that [ __ ] and no contact with Rob Maltby I can't imagine how Rob and Sophie's family like how they're all just
strolling around out there and then how Sophie's family fell because Rob probably felt in danger I'm assuming but
yeah I would feel that way and angry oh I would be so angry and he's trying to recover yeah he's trying to get his
whole life back in order everything he's gone through and these [ __ ] just get to run amok yeah they can just go out
and do their regular thing that they're doing like do we not know what happened the [ __ ] wow now luckily Ryan Herbert
and Brendan Harris I think they were the ones that the police were most worried about yeah they remained in custody I
think they should have been worried about the the entirety of them yeah absolutely but because all we're under
18 their identities were protected in the Press but anyone even the Press who attended the hearings had been privy to
their names yeah and even actually had taken photos of them entering and exiting the court so press was ready
with content when the ban on the uh on identifying the attackers was eventually there they just were like here you go
and they were like boom like that this is who did yeah now a trial was set for all five boys on
March 10th with a pre-trial hearing scheduled for February 22nd 2008. on February 25th bake up police held a
press conference led by superintendent Mick gradewell and detective inspector Holden where the press and the public
were finally provided with more details on the attack and the murder Holden told reporters this was the most
horrendous crime I have seen in 14 years and he went on to describe the four excuse me the five boys as feral feral
is a perfect way to describe them truly they are that really is feral Beast I'm glad he came up with that word because
that really really is it it really is I can't even actually think of a better word that's really perfect now he also
went out of his way to explain that neither Rob nor Sophie was in any way responsible for this attack they had
been targeted because of their appearance and for no other reason mocked up is what he was saying
now finally both gradwell and Holden told the Press they believed 15 year old Brendan Harris to be the quote unquote
primary offender that's wild and then they criticized the parents of all five boys for failing to take the matter
seriously and taking a Flippin attitude as investigators interviewed their children
the parents didn't give a [ __ ] I'm gonna stay quiet yeah that's why when you said
something earlier I was like oh don't even feel bad because they were pieces of [ __ ] and I'll say it so throughout
the investigation he explained most of the parents had laughed about the charges attempted to provide false
Alibis and were generally hostile and belittling of officers and investigating the case
Apple shouldn't fall far from the [ __ ] tree here [ __ ] ashamed of yourself and the sad thing is they're
they're not they're not wow beast I mean my brain won't even come up with words for them that's that's
cruelly abhorrent like that is that's a great word for it I am beyond words for that laughing about the charges laughing
about them you're killed about a murderer on a young girl's head they don't care
can you imagine not caring about that no because I am obviously a figure of speech I know you can't but it's like
but just like flabbergasting no I can't and just disgusting truly disgusting that's
despicable like I said apples didn't fall far no several weeks later gradwell again publicly criticized the parents of
the accused saying the only thing these Lads think they have done wrong is to be
caught it was almost as though they were laughing and joking about what they had
done parents have got to take much more responsibility [ __ ] yeah because it's like where the [ __ ] were you when your
kid was stomping on someone's face well looky you're laughing about it now right
so like it tells everybody everything they need to know it does now when the investigators had finished
speaking Sylvia Lancaster also was able to make a statement to the press and she
told reporters about Sophie's life Sophie's passions and about how her murder had affected her family she
explained that she had spent years working with young offenders herself actually and even despite what had
happened to her daughter she told them I haven't lost my faith wow that is a strong [ __ ] yeah at one point when
Sylvia said she knew Sophie's appearance had made her a Target in the past a reporters asked did you never ask your
daughter to change her appearance so she might not have faced Prejudice shown to
her that night and Sylvia said why would I ask her to change what she was oh I just got like a full chill why
would you ask your daughter to change why not why would we be asking the person attacked to change well that's
the thing attackers oh yes Sophie should have changed it shouldn't be these feral
little pricks that need to change like if we're talking about change here I think I know exactly where we start how
dare somebody even asked her how dare they yeah no by the time the trial began on March 10 2008 a few things had
actually changed in the course of their investigation investigators had discovered quote forensic evidence of
blood from both rava and Sophie on the pants of Ryan Herbert oops the pants that he was wearing obviously on the
evening of the attack so that provided a direct and damning connection to the murder
as a result scared little Herbert there realized he had to change his plea from not guilty to guilty on both counts how
do you like those apples yep before accepting the plea judge Anthony Russell wanted to make sure that Herbert
understood quote the sentence of the court is fixed at life meaning there wouldn't be any negotiations for a
lesser sentence good and Herbert's defense attorney explained he accepts responsibility for the attack on both
victims oh what a big guy he accepts responsibility when we found the actual physical evidence of it on his goddamn
pants right like he accepts responsibility now that there's literally no way to argue against it you
should have said he's been forced into accepting responsibility he didn't do that on his own volition precisely but
at that point The Plea was accepted and he was remanded back into the custody of
the crown months later after the trial had ended the press found out that detectives had actually gotten
recordings from phone calls that Herbert had made to his mother from Lancaster Farm young offenders Institute where he
was being held and he admitted to her in those calls that he had actively participated in the attack on Rob and
Sophie and the murder in another recording where he did not know that he was being recorded he actually admitted
to other things like quote kicking Sophie Lancaster like a football oh no never let him out never never let him
out now with him pleading guilty the four others stood before a judge and with regard to the charge of Grievous
bodily harm to Rob Maltby all four now pleaded guilty leaving only the murder charge unresolved now the prosecuting
attorney Michael shorrock I believe is how you say it he concluded that although there was evidence that all
five had participated in the attack on Rob there was no evidence actually directly connecting Daniel Mallett or
the whole Brothers for the attack slash murder on Sophie so because of that judge Russell
delivered a verdict of not guilty in the cases of Daniel Mallett and the whole Brothers wow
so that left Brendan Harris as the only individual to stand trial for Sophie's murder wow because
um because Ryan had already admitted to it exactly so all of their attorneys the whole
Brothers Daniel Mallet and Brandon harrises wanted their clients to be out on bail rather than remanded to the
custody of the crown what the [ __ ] do you think you are I'm also like I'm I'm thinking if I'm their defense attorney
I'd like them to remember being held because I don't know what the [ __ ] they're gonna do out there to make
this case even more that's the thing like you trust them out there right you trust your job that much like dance all
right wild but luckily the judge was like I am unmoved by that and they were all taken to the custody good until they
appeared for sentencing sentencing now with the new please out of the way and the uh Grievous bodily harm charges
settled the trial of Brendan Harris got underway March 12 2008. in his opening statements prosecutor shark told the
jury how Rob and Sophie had been targeted for their appearance by this group of Teenagers Who quote acting like
a pack of wild animals savagely and mercilessly beat the couple while quote encouraging each other and laughing
that's the thing they're all involved in this whether they were physically involved they were encouraging someone
to stomp on someone's head and laughing that's a problem that's it makes you want to throw up it does now through
witness after witness there were actually nearly 50 in total the jury learned the sequence of events that
started with raw being slapped in the face and then that escalated quickly to the vicious beating of both he and
Sophie which again obviously resulted in Sophie's murder one witness testified Herbert was
bending over Rob and punching him in the face all five were having a go there you
go Sophie was trying to push them off others testified to the laughter the mocking comments being directed at
Sophie as she was trying to protect an unconscious Rob from any more blows before they began directing their
violence at her which started with Brendan Harris delivering a kick to her head as she knelt a knelt beside Rob
cradling his broken head in her lap she was just tending to her love and then he kicked her in the head
and what kills me is that that last oh thing it's so it's so so horrible witnessed in her life was this yeah like
that's was like the love of her life being it's brutal it's like that's it's really Unthinkable there are not
words this is really Unthinkable it really is First Responders also testified that
when they first arrived arrived excuse me Sophie's injuries were so bad that like I said earlier they quote could not
distinguish Miss Lancaster's sex wow throughout the trial the jury heard the recordings of the calls made to 999 by
Witnesses at the scene and not provided insight to the jury on just how chaotic and absolutely terrifying that scene was
for everyone involved at one point jurors listened to a call that was made while the attack was still underway and
a hysterical girl could be heard screaming for help amid the chaos and while she was testifying on the
stand after the recording was played she became so emotional on the stand this poor girl that the judge actually
eventually determined that she was in no fit state to continue wow and had to adjourn the court for the day wow it was
that emotional and it actually was not the first time or the last time that members of the court or the jury had to
take a break after the emotional testimony I'm surprised they were ever able to get through this trial it's just
unbelievably census and it's so brutal it's senseless and so brutal exactly and it's just there's something about
someone using what they've got their hands and their feet yeah to do this much damage it is that close in
proximity to someone literally minding their business that is so brutal and just like what a human can do to another
human with their own with all the same human parts that we all have you can just so scary take someone in the head
and stomp on them when Brendan Harry finally took the stand he remained as defiant as ever oh [ __ ] you claiming he
played no part in the attack he said all the witnesses were lying or mistaken of
course they are you idiot and you know they must have just um figured out a way to fake those phone calls yeah
absolutely his claims were clearly [ __ ] there was plenty of witness testimony and evidence that actually
connected him to the crime and the prosecutor short told him during cross-examination you recall very well
what you did that night and you do not want anyone to know about it you were there until the very end you kicked
Sophie you and Herbert caused those her those horrible injuries yeah no it was during this cross examination
that the jury learned this was actually not the first incident of violence that Brendan Harris had committed in the park
four months four months before Rob and Sophie were attacked Ryan Harris and Brendan Herbert oh excuse me I just
flipped their last name sorry attacked another boy in stubby Lee Park stomping on his head and kicking him
before his own mother dragged him away and reported the assault to police wow four months earlier they kind of
started kicking him and stomping him in the head does that sound familiar now are you ready this is outraging they
were given community service for this assault that's failure failure that's pure failure failure
closing arguments were given on March 27th and the jury retired to deliberate before sending them away judge Russell
instructed the jury on their task and said if you are sure that the defendant took part in the attack on Sophie
Lancaster and he did intend to kill her or cause serious injury then he is guilty of murder although he was drunk
at the time provided you are sure he actually formed the intention to kill or cause really serious injuries then he is
guilty of murder now after deliberating for a little less than three hours the jury returned to
guilty verdict good thank God can you imagine oh no no obviously there was a wave of relief throughout the courtroom
people were like erupting and allowed yes from Sylvia Lancaster now all five boys were returned to court
on April 28 2008 where they were sentenced for their respective crimes for the charge of causing Grievous
bodily harm to Rob and Sophie Danielle Mallett was sentenced to four years and four months
I'm sorry what four years and four months because it was Grievous bodily harm not murder for them
Joseph and Danny Holm were sentenced to serve a minimum of five years and 10 months
now luckily Ryan Herbert and Brandon Harris were sentenced to double life sentences for the murderers they could
be and causing Grievous bodily harm Brendan was actually required to serve a minimum of 18 years while Ryan was
sentenced to a minimum of 16 years and three months because he got the lesser sentence there because he pleaded guilty
and for the attack on Rob Harris and Herbert are Sunday or were sentenced to five years and 10 months which was to be
served concurrent with the life sentences wow now before passing the sentence judge
Russell addressed the boy saying this was a terrible case which has shocked and outraged all who have heard about it
at least wild animals when they hunt in packs have a legitimate reason for doing
so that's what I was thinking too I was like this isn't even animalistic because
they usually don't attack unprovoked and they don't attack their own yeah he um he said you have none and your behavior
on that night degrades Humanity itself wow it's like throwing out for that judge yeah now on October 7th 2008 all
five had the [ __ ] nerve to appeal their sentences to the court of appeal in London who delivered the response two
weeks later in the case of Brendan the court felt that judge Russell hadn't given quote enough allowance for his
plea of guilty excuse me and as a result they further reduced his sentence to 15
years and six months the other four appeals were rejected luckily but in their report the justices
reprimanded all five for their participation in what they described as chilling random and Mindless brutality
and they praised Sophie Lancaster for her remarkable courage demonstrated in her attempt to help her or excuse me to
protect her boyfriend that's the thing because she could have run away of course and she didn't and seriously
that's that really is and that tells you exactly who she was exactly now in the year since his sentence was passed
Brendan Harris has appealed to sentence multiple times his appeals filed in August 2016 and January 2020 were
rejected on grounds that he had not made significant progress and he was not deserving of consideration good the fact
that after all that time you still haven't made progress we know what he's doing this in prison excuse me and in
February of 2020 Ryan Herbert's appeal was actually considered by a high court judge who found that he had made
exceptional progress while in jail including efforts to further his education through the University of
Cambridge where he was taking law courses oh I'm sorry he's taking law courses to find a loophole in all of
this and also he's taking law courses what's Sophie get to do well Sophie's gone and while Rob has probably the mo
the most tragic case of PTSD one could imagine okay cool in March of 2022 the parole board determined that Ryan
Herbert's progress made him a good candidate for the for parole and granted him conditional release
Sylvia Lancaster was obviously [ __ ] outraged by this decision and told reporters once again we have a justice
system that fails to deliver Justice truly so they all just suck that is I can't that's enough who made
that [ __ ] decision now Sylvia Lancaster continued speaking out against hate crimes and promoting
the message of Tolerance through that organization Sophie and eventually through that work she was appointed to
the order of the British Empire wow which is a prestigious award given to Citizens promoting social good in the UK
badass now sadly on April 12 2022 actually Sylvia passed away from a rare complication that she suffered after a
surgery her death came as a complete shock to the community that she supported Sylvia and Sophie left a
legacy of Tolerance and unity that spread around the world through musician artists anybody who embraced this cause
yeah now in general Rob Maltby avoided the press and I 100 understand that he just focused his his attention on the
long and hard process of physical and emotional recovery now not surprisingly the trauma he
experienced during and after the attack derailed a lot of his plans for the future I hate that it left him paranoid
afraid to venture much further than his family's home but in 2017 he did finish his illustration degree yeah [ __ ] yeah
hell yeah Rob and in an interview given to the guardian he said that he'd finally begun a new relationship with a
young woman that he met online and he was planning to spend time with her in the U.S but he also told the guardian he
had always been frustrated with the narrative that Sophie was killed because she was goth
he told the reporter no she wasn't she was killed because some [ __ ] killed her why can't we ask what it is about
them that made them want to murder someone not what it is about someone that made them be murdered yes and I
think that is the perfect place to end this case absolutely [ __ ] phenomenal point of stop asking me why she was
killed for what she looked and ask why they did it and ask why they [ __ ] did it yeah that's [ __ ] up this is one of
the most tragic cases I've ever read in my life that was very painful I want to do something
like wow seriously but yeah wow terrific we can do something haunted yes next week because that was really brutal
because that was brutal yeah and we love you guys take care of yourselves yeah be
nice to each other do something in Sophie's name this week you know I just think that'd be awesome don't don't be
mean to people make fun of people yeah so everyone is dealing with their own [ __ ] exactly so deal with yours yeah and
keep listening uh we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird I am not even telling you not how weird
to keep it because you already know you already know [Music] foreign [Music]

In the early morning hours of August 11, 2007, Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, were passing through Stubbylee Park in Lancashire, UK, when they were attacked by a group of teenage boys who beat the couple savagely, resulting in Lancaster’s death two weeks later. The next day, police arrested two of the teenagers responsible for the attack, who told authorities they’d attacked the young couple for no other reason than they were dressed like “Goths.”

The tragic assault on the young couple was shocking in and of itself, but the murder was made exponentially more shocking by the ages of the killers and the ostensibly terroristic motive, raising questions about the state of youth culture in the United Kingdom.

Thank you to the best of the best, David White for research assistance.

References

BBC. 2022. Sophie Lancaster murder: Killer Ryan Herbert to be freed from jail. March 12. Accessed March 1, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-60766768.

Bunyan, Nigel. 2008. "Why did parents let Goth's killers roam the streets?" Daily Telegraph, March 28.

Butt, Riazet. 2007. "National: 'Tragedy beyond words' for family as woman, 20, dies after park attack." The Guardian, August 25.

Dunbar, Polly. 2008. "I've always tried to help young people escape crime." Mail on Sunday, March 30.

Evening Courier. 2008. "Boy, 15, 'kicked woman to death for being a goth'." Evening Courier , March 12.

—. 2008. "Two teenagers jailed for life for murder of Goth girl Sophie." Evening Courier, April 28.

Gordon, Cathy. 2008. "Goth's killers lose appeals; Teenagers must pay for 'appalling crime'." Daily Post, October 30.

Hodkinson, Mark. 2008. "United in the name of tolerance." The Guardian, August 2.

Hussain, Samrana. 2007. "Couple left badly beaten in skate park." Lancashire Telegraph, August 12.

Jackson, Kate. 2007. "Residents call for park patrols after woman’s death." Lancashire Telegraph, August 27.

Jenkins, Russell. 2008. "Youth aged 15 'kicked a woman to death because she was a Goth'." The Times, March 13.

Lancashire Telegraph. 2020. "Sophie Lancaster killer has minimum jail term cut for 'exceptional progress'." Lancashire Telegraph, February 10.

Manzoor, SarFraz. 2014. "The precious afterlife of Sophie Lancaster." Sunday Telegraph, February 23.

Rossendale Free Press. 2007. "Young couple fighting for their lives after vicious ‘mob attack’." Rossendale Free Press, August 16: https://www.rossendalefreepress.co.uk/news/local-news/young-couple-fighting-lives-after-1709148.

Smyth, Catherine. 2020. Weirdo, Mosher, Freak: The Murder of Sophie Lancaster. Lancashire, UK: Self-published.

Turner, Kate. 2007. "Skatepark youth 'may face murder charge'." This is Lancashire, September 27.

Usborne, Simon. 2017. "Robert Maltby on the murder of his girlfriend Sophie Lancaster." The Guardian, June 15: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/15/robert-maltby-on-the-of-his-girlfriend-sophie-lancaster-the-goth-thing-was-an-oversimplification.

Wainwright, Martin. 2008. "Woman died after drunken gang attacked couple dressed as." The Guardian, March 13.

Connect with Wondery http://wondery.com/shows http://facebook.com/WonderyMedia http://twitter.com/WonderyMedia http://instagram.com/WonderyMedia

Brief Summary

The episode discusses the tragic murder of Sophie Lancaster and the societal issues surrounding her brutal attack in 2007.

Key points

Sophie Lancaster's Story. A tragic tale of love and violence that highlights the importance of individuality.
The Attack. A horrific assault on Sophie and Rob by a group of teenagers.
Emergency Calls Made. Kids bravely called for help during the attack, showing incredible courage.
The Attack's Aftermath. Rob and Sophie were found severely injured, shocking paramedics and police.
Arrests Made. Police arrested five boys believed to be responsible for the attack.
Sophie Lancaster's Death. Sophie was taken off life support, escalating the case to murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is a very tragic case.

Elena introducing the case of Sophie Lancaster.

2:21WatchAug 15, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Morbid | Podcast

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.