Which news stories have stuck with you?

[PepperSteaks]

When I was a little girl there was a story in the news that I vaguely remember about a little girl standing on the Christmas tree lights barefoot and dying. I can picture what I thought the girl looked like so clearly all these years later and think about it often.
Do you have any news stories that you still think about?

Alfredo Rampi - who fell into a well in 1981 (I was 11). At the time I prayed for him to be rescued but he died in the well and that was when I stopped believing in the God that I had been taught about since starting school.

Stephanie Slater's kidnap as it happened when I was away at University but she was found in a town near to where I grew up.

Gosh, so many stuck in my head, esp after reading them on here. Mainly ones to do with children, or young people being killed either by strangers or relatives.
The main ones that stick are 9/11. I still remember messaging my best friend at work asking her have you seen the news and her replying. Just awful.
Boxing day tsunami. We were at relatives for Christmas that year and hadn't switched on the tv or any news until Boxing day evening. It was a very sobering moment.
The hostages in the Beslan school. Just awful.
I really remember the Zebrugge ferry disaster.
Coming down on a Sunday morning watching the news and thinking something awful has happened and my bil saying oh yes, Lady Di has died.
On a lighter note, I remember the Mary Rose being raised on Blue Peter, and the scary moment when the rigging broke!

James Butler

Dunblane

Stephen Lawrence

Holly and Jessica

9/11

So many to remember.

There was a woman in the north east whose daughter had gone out to play in the communal playground and was murdered (I think by a neighbour.) I remember seeing the mother's face on the front page of one of the newspapers at the time - it showed pure agony. I remember seeing it while I was shopping and thinking "That must be exactly how you feel if your child dies." It was about 20 years ago but I've never forgotten it.

The other event is Hillsborough. My memory is that I was watching it happen on TV "live", but that can't be true - I think I must have just seen news reports later. Or maybe I was aware at the time via TV that this awful thing was happening? Either way - the awfulness was just so awful. Those were people's children - you just can't begin to imagine.

So many tragedies and evil behaviour but my heart was lifted this year by the rescue of the boys in the Thai cave.

Holly and Jessica - particularly as we were driving home from holiday and went through Soham on the day they were found.

Twin Towers - I was at home that day and a friend rang me to tell me to switch the tv on. So I saw the second one hit, and the awful, sudden dawning realisation from everyone that the first strike hadn't been the accident they first thought.

The Boxing Day tsunami - we were staying with family a few miles away and I drove back home to feed the cat. She needed to go out for a pee, and while I waited for her to come back in I switched on the telly to pass the time...

The IRA bombing the Household Cavalry - those poor horses, I shall never forget it.

Lockerbie
Zeebrugge
Heidi Koseda

James Bulger was the first news I was properly aware of, I was 6 at the time, and have lived in Liverpool all my life, so you wouldn’t ever forget it.
Josie Russell and her family.
I remember reading a news story years ago about a young lady with learning disabilities who was held and tortured at a flat, and she was made to drink bleach and disinfectant. I don’t remember her name but I remember her face from the article and it has always stuck with me. The poor girl.
The Norway terror attacks. I was pregnant with DS1 and watching the story unfold in the waiting room while I waited for LJ scan, it was chilling.

Watching Red Rum win the Grand National for the third time.

Just read about Suzanne Capper, fucking horrific, evil cunts

Jamie Bulger was probably my first. I couldn't have been more than 7/8 and my brother younger and I remember the stories and the articles and even, randomly, the ceefax stories. My mum was really affected by it and would never let us out of her sight.

Remember Rachel Nickell, Princess Di, Labour getting victory (seemed huge), 9/11, Sara Payne, Holly and Jessica and 7/7 really well. And Obama getting victory - seemed like the start of something big, so sad to think that wotsit psychopath is in now.

Babes in the woods Brighton.
I remember when it happened. driving home a week later , seeing the traffic built up, the police were stopping people ( I didn't need to turn that way) every year I drive past the spot and see the justice for XXXXXX
so sad(court case happening not 30 odd years later)

On a building site in Manchester city centre the skeleton of a young woman was found rolled up in carpet. Initially the workers thought it was a Halloween prop but rang the police to be on the safe side. She was dressed in 70s clothing and had Guinness promo items. They also found a shoe. No one ever came forward to claim her. I can imagine it's because such a person would be long dead.
Also Joyce Vincent. Her skeletal remains were found after 3 years. The thing that haunted me the most is that she was wrapping gifts.so obviously had loved ones. Also the tv staying on for 3 years while her body wasted away in front of it.

Baby Peter ...

I grew up in South Africa - in the 80s a SAA plane the Helderberg just blew up midair with passengers on board - the 8 ‘o clock news finished with a long list of all the people on board who lost their lives. Apparently, there were weapons on board (SA was embargoed) and passengers and crew were collateral damage ...

James Bulger ...

When my eldest son was around 16 months old, I read a report about a child the same age who had been neglected to the extent that when a post mortem was performed on his tiny body, there were traces of his nappy and contents found in his stomach. He’d been so hungry and nobody had fed him.

It affected me to the point that I decided to train to be a children’s social worker. Divorce happened and I didn’t go to uni, so I fostered instead. My two youngest (now grown up) are children who I found through that, then adopted.

The other story was of a vulnerable man with learning disabilities who was imprisoned in Yorkshire and raped repeatedly for a number of days by other men. I wept fiercely when I heard that. I couldn’t imagine the fear and pain he’d experienced.

I asked the police whether they could forward messages to him and I sent flowers- they said the flowers and message made him happier.

Another one was Suzy Lampugh. I was quite young when she went missing, but I’ve always wondered what actually happened to her. I feel for her parents.

Today, the news that Grace Millaine has been confirmed as a murder victim. I hope that her body is found so that her family can put her to rest- but they shouldn’t have to- it’s so wrong and so sad.

The heavily pregnant woman who drowned her three children before throwing herself from a tower block. I think about all of them often.

A story about a water tank falling through a ceiling and killing a little girl 😢.

The girl who got stuck in a drain in South America (?) following an earthquake I think. She took days to die and they couldnt free her, she was trapped up to her neck in water. I was very young myself but she was all over the news as basically iirc reporters stood around filming her and interviewing her over a period of days.

Oh yeah Joyce Vincent. I loved the documentary that was made about her. She led an interesting life. Nearly all the people interviewed said she had no interest in her family and whatever boyfriend she had she would involve herself with his friends and family only.
We had a neighbour who died and lay undiscovered. My brother discovered his body when he was posting newspapers and he spotted a man sitting on the stairs through the glass window on the door. My brother knocked as he couldn't fit anything through. He looked through the letterbox and saw him. My brother was 11. This bloke was very aggressive towards kids and would chase them with a rolling pin. His body was sat on the bottom 2 stairs with the pin next to him. The police reckon he had been shouting and got himself all het up. He'd been there 4 months judging by his post and papers.

There are many but the death of Sophie Lancaster often crosses my mind as does the loss of the crew of The Kursk.

On a positive note, the rescue of Tony Bullimore, the yachtsman.

It remember so clearly Michael Burke's report on the Ethiopian famine, that led to Band Aid and Live Aid. I was 13 I think and it has stayed with me and in many ways shaped the way I try to live my life.

I was on teaching practice in Newark when Stephanie Slater was being held captive. I literally unwittingly walked past her every day and shopped in her abductor's shop.

Daniel Handley I remember the detective on the case being distressed about his little life and how he had had no chance. C J Rickard who was murdered in Kidbrooke School.

The horror of 9/11.

@KenAdams Oh Yes Leah Betts. I was 14 when her awful story was on the news. The images never leave me, even now when I hear Wonderwall by Oasis it reminds me of her. I never touched drugs, it scared me too much.

There was a horrible story last Christmas where several children were killed in an arson attack. Their mother survived, but was badly injured and had to miss their funerals because she was still in hospital. She was in hospital for months I think. I couldnt stop thinking about them, they'd been harrassed for ages and no one did anything to stop it happening.

Also the Manchester Arena bombing. I know of several people who were in the area at the time, including one who was felt the warm air from the blast. A few metres and they'd have been killed or badly injured.