Five years on from Olly’s death, change is needed

“THESE dangers aren’t going away,” the father of a murdered schoolboy has warned, five years after his son’s death.

Stuart Stephens, whose son Olly was fatally stabbed following an online dispute, marked the anniversary of his death last weekend with friends and family.

Olly, who was 13 when he died, was attacked in Bugs Bottom, an area of open parkland near to his home in Emmer Green on January 3, 2021.

He had been lured to the field by a 13-year-old girl before being ambushed by two boys aged 13 and 14. The group had previously discussed the plan on the social media platform Snapchat.

Last year, Mr Stephens and wife Amanda set up a charitable trust, Olly’s Work, and are campaigning for measures to improve online safety for children and prevent knife crime.

The charity is also campaigning to improve support for SEND children and Olly had been diagnosed with autism shortly before his murder.

On Saturday, a memorial walk was held in Olly’s memory and to raise money for the charity set up in his name.

Family and friends gathered at St Barnabas’s Church in Grove Road and walked to Bugs Bottom.

The route ended at a bench installed in Olly’s memory, carved in the shape of a sofa and engraved with the words, “Stay and talk awhile”.

An oak tree, grown from an acorn in the family’s back garden, stands nearby, decorated with charms and mementos. It was planted just months after Olly’s death.

Walkers gathered by the bench to listen to a number of readings and speeches before walking back to the church for hot drinks, cakes and snacks.

A poem was read by family friend Shelley Gander and Olly’s uncle Thomas Vooght reproduced a reading he previously delivered at his funeral.

“There were a lot of people who turned up,” Mr Stephens said. “We were worried about the cold and icy weather deterring people but it didn’t.

“The support is never taken for granted and we’re always grateful for it. We found it’s best to be around people on days like that and the more the merrier.” Mr Stephens said it was nice to be joined by some of Olly’s friends, many of whom are now in their late teens.

Mr Stephens said: “It’s not just us that it affected. It’s a big personality taken from their lives. They stay in touch. There’s a lot of community around us and a lot of support for what we’re doing.”

Mr Stephens said he wanted to thank local businesses for their support, as they donated prizes for a raffle which helped raise money for the trust.

He said: “This is the first time we’ve been able to promote Olly’s work and we managed to raise quite a bit through the raffle.

“The generosity of the local community, again, is amazing. Raffle prizes seemed to come out of thin air.”

Mr and Mrs Stephens have also been campaigning for a safer internet for children and were instrumental in pushing for the 2023 Online Safety Act, alongside other bereaved families.

The bill means that Ofcom can now take action on the tech companies that are not adequately protecting young people but the couple has said that more still needs to be done to remove content before users see it.

Olly’s name is now part of a major civil lawsuit in the United States, with Mr Stephens joining other families in legal action against tech firms including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Google-owned YouTube, accusing them of failing to safeguard children.

“It touches everybody,” Mr Stephens said. “It’s not just us as a family, it’s so many people around us who are affected and, unfortunately, with the online world being what it is, these dangers aren’t going away.

“The more we talk about it, the more education there is around it and hopefully [it will] make people think twice about picking up knives.”

Mr Stephens said a key part of launching the charity was about raising awareness. He said that in the five years since his son’s death, he had seen an increase in conversations around the topic of social media, both in schools and with parents.

He said: “Things need to change. There needs to be culpability, there needs to be accountability. If you say something on social media and someone dies as a result of it, you should be held accountable.”

Mr Stephens said that Olly’s Work was supporting the campaign Let’s Be Blunt, launched by Southport attack survivor Leanne Lucas.

The campaign advocates for the widespread adoption of round-ended kitchen knives to reduce knife violence.

Mr Stephens said he was proud but emotional about what he had been a part of in the years since his son’s death,

He said: “I keep saying Olly is the gift that keeps on giving because of the people we meet. You wouldn’t know they’re there unless you needed their help. It’s incredible and it’s terribly sad because you wish Olly could have seen it.”

For more information about Olly’s Work, visit www.
readingamnesty.art/ollyswork/