Mothers, sons, fathers and daughters: the 22 murdered by the Abedi brothers
Excited children and loving parents were among the 22 innocent victims murdered by a hate-filled suicide bomber at Manchester Arena.
Salman Abedi, surrounded by the throng of elated youngsters leaving the concert, exploded his shrapnel-packed rucksack bomb, sending thousands of nuts and bolts shredding everything in their path.
– The youngest victim, eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos, had gone to see her favourite pop star, Ariana Grande, perform on the most exciting night of her young life.
The concert tickets were a Christmas present from her parents.
With her mother, Lisa Roussos, and sister, Ashlee Bromwich, from Preston, Lancashire, they were in the foyer at the time of the explosion.
Police and members of the public, including an off-duty nurse, tended to Saffie-Rose to help as best they could.
The little girl was taken by ambulance to Manchester Children’s Hospital but died there shortly before midnight. Her mother was also seriously injured.
Miss Bromwich, 23, said in a tribute to Saffie-Rose: “You lit up our lives. The greatest gift.”
– Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, who lived in Leeds, was waiting in the foyer with her mother, Samantha Leczkowski, and her grandmother, Pauline Healey, having arranged to meet her sister, who had gone to the concert with a friend.
Clever, talented and creative, the Allerton High School student wanted to become an architect and had high hopes and dreams for the future, her family said.
After the explosion, despite being injured herself, her mother tried to resuscitate Sorrell. She was helped by police officers but they were unable to revive her and Sorrell was declared dead at the scene.
Her family said: “Our hearts are broken but the love and thoughts of so many people from the local community and beyond is thoughtful and extremely comforting.”
– Vivacious and full of fun, Eilidh MacLeod, 14, lived on the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides.
The pupil at Castlebay Community School had spent the weekend away from the island, going shopping, going to cafes and the cinema and to see her pop idol.
She attended the concert with a friend, Laura MacIntyre, 15, and was exiting through the foyer at the time of the blast.
Eilidh died at the scene.
Her great-uncle, Donald Manford, speaking at her funeral, said: “In contrast to the hate that took her life, Eilidh’s life was and now stands as a testament forever of the world of love, innocence, goodness, kindness and faith.”
– Nell Jones, 14, lived in Cheshire and went to the concert with a school friend, Freya Lewis.
Bright and popular among schoolchildren at Holmes Chapel High School, Freya said Nell was “the happiest I have ever seen her” at the concert and as the pair left they had said “I love you” to each other.
They were in the foyer at the time of the blast. Nell died at the scene; Freya was seriously injured but survived.
Nell’s brother, Sam, described her as “kind, caring, loving, confident and clever”.
“She wouldn’t want you to hate because of what’s happened, she would want you to love and make it better again,” he told her funeral service.
– Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15, lived in Bury, Greater Manchester, and attended the concert with her friend, Adam Lawler, also 15.
She loved singing and music and the teenagers were due to return home together on the tram and were crossing the foyer at the time of the detonation.
She was declared dead at the scene.
Her family spent hours frantically searching for Olivia, who went to Tottington High School, before confirming in the early hours of the next day that she had died in the blast.
Her mother, Charlotte Campbell, wrote on Facebook: “RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far, far too soon go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much.”
– Megan Hurley, 15, lived in Liverpool and went to the concert with her older brother, Bradley Hurley, 20.
At the time of the blast they were walking across the foyer, having left the concert as soon as the last song finished, intending to meet up with their parents.
When her father went to the foyer a few minutes after the explosion, his daughter was unresponsive and he was unable to detect a pulse. Her brother was seriously injured but survived.
Resuscitation efforts were made but Megan, a pupil at Halewood Academy, was declared dead at the scene.
A relative wrote on Facebook that Megan’s parents were “destroyed beyond words”.
They added: “It doesn’t seem fair for two kids to go to a concert and only one returns how in God’s name could this happen to such a lovely family … heartbroken.”
– Georgina Callander, 18, lived in Preston, was in her second year of studying health and social care at college, and had gone to the concert with a friend while her mother waited nearby.
She was crossing the foyer when the bomb exploded, was treated at the scene for a bleeding wound to her head and was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived.
Her mother, Lesley, found her as she was being taken from the foyer on a makeshift stretcher, unconscious and undergoing resuscitation attempts.
She arrived by ambulance at Manchester Royal Infirmary at 11.30pm but was pronounced dead at five minutes past midnight.
Georgina was first and foremost “mummy’s little girl” and best friends with her mother, her family said.
Her elder brother, Daniel Callander, told her funeral service that his sister was “kind, caring and the incarnation of innocence”.
– Childhood sweethearts Liam Curry, 19, and Chloe Rutherford, 17, were inseparable and “wanted to be together forever”, their family said.
Both students, living in South Shields, they were crossing the foyer at the time of the detonation.
Both died at the scene.
Their families said in a joint statement: “They were perfect in every way for each other and were meant to be. They were beautiful inside and out to ourselves and our families, and they were inseparable.”
– Student Courtney Boyle, 19, lived in Gateshead. Her mother, Deborah Boyle, was the partner of Philip Tron, 32, a plumber, who was also killed in the atrocity.
Courtney, her mother, Mr Tron and his mother, June Tron, travelled to Manchester as Courtney’s sister was attending the concert.
Courtney and Mr Tron left his partner and mother in their car nearby to collect Courtney’s sister.
Both were declared dead at the scene.
Deborah Hutchinson, Ms Boyle’s mother and the partner of Mr Tron, said afterwards: “My stunning amazing beautiful daughter you were my rock, you made me so proud with all you had achieved.
“And my gorgeous crazy Philip, you made my world a happy place and now you are both my angels flying high in the sky.”
– John Atkinson, 28, from Manchester, a support worker for people with special needs, attended the concert with his friend, Gemma O’Donnell.
They left early to return to his car and were crossing the foyer at the time of the blast.
Mr Atkinson was evacuated from the scene but died of his injuries soon after midnight. Ms O’Donnell survived but was very seriously injured.
Mr Atkinson was the son of Daryl and Kevan and had been with his partner, Michael, for 15 years.
In a statement issued after his death, they said: “John had a huge positive impact on the lives of the people that he looked after. They will feel his loss greatly.
“John loved life and he lived his life to the fullest. He was loving, loyal, kind and caring.”
– Martyn Hett, 29, a public relations manager active on social media, lived in Stockport and attended the concert with friends, leaving the concert hall with one of them at around 10.15pm to buy more drinks.
As they returned to their seats, Martyn hung back to speak to some girls on the concourse who appeared to recognise him.
He had appeared on TV shows Come Dine With Me and Tattoo Fixers, and died just days before he was to set off on a two-month trip to the US.
He was declared dead at the scene.
Mariah Carey was one of a host of stars to pay tribute to him with a recorded message at his funeral attended by a host of Coronation Street stars, for the “superfan” of the soap.
His stepfather, Stuart Murray, said: “Martyn was really the complete opposite of the person (bomber) and what happened on that awful day.
“He just swallowed it all up, all that hate and anger, and his star is shining bright for us all to see and remember.”
– Kelly Brewster, 32, a claims assessor from Sheffield, had gone to the concert with her sister, Claire Booth, and her niece, Hollie Booth, 12.
All three were crossing the foyer. After the blast, Ms Booth and her daughter were able to run a short distance before Hollie was unable to go any further.
Claire Booth returned to the foyer to find her sister, Ms Brewster, unresponsive.
She was declared dead at the scene.
Bright and bubbly, Ms Brewster loved travelling and music and was looking forward to having children of her own with her partner, Ian Winslow.
A statement from her family said: “The hole left in our family following Kelly’s tragic passing is immeasurable. Our hearts are all broken and we are truly devastated at our loss. Our world will never be the same again.”
– Angelika Klis, 39, a shop assistant, was the partner of Marcin Klis, 42, a taxi driver, who lived in York. They had married in Poland in 1996. They had divorced 10 years later but only remained apart for a short time, though they did not re-marry.
They were in the foyer to collect their daughters, Alex and Patrycia, aged 20 and 14.
The sisters had made a desperate plea for information after the attack.
In a post on Facebook, Alex wrote: “Anyone who is in any safe place or hospital in Manchester, if anyone comes across my parents please, please let me know as they’ve been missing ever since the attack.”
Both parents died at the scene.
– Elaine McIver, 43, was a police officer and lived in Cheshire.
The detective constable with Cheshire Police, who worked for North West Regional Crime Unit Titan, had been standing in the foyer of Manchester Arena with partner Paul Price, waiting to collect his 13-year-old daughter and her friend after the concert.
In a statement after her death, Ms McIver’s family said: “Elaine was a much-loved daughter, sister, auntie, friend and colleague, the best we could ever have wished for.
“Despite what has happened to her, she would want us all to carry on regardless and not be frightened by fear tactics; instead she regularly urged us all to rise up against it.”
She was given a guard of honour by police colleagues at her funeral.
– Michelle Kiss, 45, lived in Whalley, Lancashire. A company secretary, she was waiting with a friend in the foyer to collect their daughters who had gone to the concert together.
The mother-of-three was standing on the steps leading to a raised area at the time of the detonation and died at the scene.
Her husband Tony, children, parents and sister said in a tribute: “She has been taken away from us, and all that love her, in the most traumatic way imaginable. We hope to draw from the courage and strength she showed in her life to get through this extremely difficult time.”
– Alison Howe, 44, was a nurse who took her daughter to the concert with the daughter of another of those killed, Lisa Lees, 43, a beauty therapist.
The two Oldham women were waiting in the foyer to collect their daughters.
Both were declared dead at the scene.
A family member wrote on Facebook later: “They took a caring beautiful mum and step mother away from us all she was amazing to us all x love you loads Alison Howe xx.”
Mrs Lees’s daughter, India, paid tribute to “the best mum in the universe and the bestest friend that I could ask for”.
– Wendy Fawell, 50, lived in Otley, Leeds. She had taken her 15-year-old daughter, her boyfriend and his brother to the concert along with Caroline Davies, the mother of the boys.
The two women stayed together and returned to the Arena at the end of the concert to collect the children.
Ms Fawell was crossing the foyer at the time of the blast. Her family said she was a “wonderful woman” who touched many lives and thanked the public at home and in Manchester for the support they had shown.
– Mother-of-three Jane Tweedle, 51, a school receptionist at South Shore Academy in Blackpool, had accompanied a friend to Manchester to keep her company while her friend’s 14-year-old daughter attended the concert with a friend.
All four were making their way across the foyer at the time of the detonation.
After the blast, despite attempts to assist her, she died at the scene.
