Stephanie Slater has died

[Lottapianos]

Very sad news. She was an estate agent who was kidnapped in 1992 by a man posing as a potential client, and held for 8 days in a makeshift coffin. She was only 50 when she died and had been diagnosed with cancer

I remember the case well and how sickening it was. What a truly horrendous experience it must have been for her, and so sad to hear that her life was cut so short. Reminds me of Jill Seward who also survived dreadful trauma and died at a young age earlier this year

I remember her.
How sad..

What is great about both these women is that they tried not to let themselves be defined by what had happened to them and both turned such appalling experiences into doing something positive.

A courageous woman.

How sad that she died so young. I remember the case very well, I was a young adult at the time and it made a massive impact on me.

Yes me too Assassinated. It must have been terrifying for her.

Very sad. Too young.

Oh goodness, how sad. I remember the case, and her extraordinary couage well.

I "knew" her on some FB groups I belong to (interest in common). I had no idea of what had happened to her back then until she died.

She was amazing.

One line from what a friend said yesterday was “She suffered with terrible nightmares, great trauma. She lived in fear that one day Sams would be released on parole.

I think this also shows that often even a conviction doesn't provide closure or even respite as is often claimed by well meaning police officers or CPS figures after a trial. Especially so as the vast majority of victims of hideous crimes such as these will see their attackers released one day (often in only a few years - this attacker also being convicted of the hideous murder of Julie Dart made this different). Even when there was far less chance of parole ever being granted (this attacker has tried to be moved down from category A status but failed) the thought it could happen was still understandably haunting.

It's so sad her life has been cut short and enraging it was altered in such a way by the choices and desires of a violent, misogynist man.

I remember this case well. How awful and sad. RIP Stephanie

I remember this too. RIP Stephanie.

NoLove, that friend seems to have been an enormous support to her in recent years. im glad she had some comfort and hopefully someone who she could trust.

I can't imagine how you even begin to heal from the trauma of what she went through.

I remember thiscase well and sad to see she's died so young.

Very much so Lottapianos. I'm glad she had loving friends close to her and someone she could speak to about it. As with you, I can't either. This thread is of course about her but it also makes me think of all the girls and women who've been subject to misogynist male violence, because of being female, and how they have to carry on and cope with what happened.

It's horrendous this happened to her and her passing is such sad news.

Same here NoLove. How many women are living lives scarred by male violence?

I don't want to sound too Daily Mail, and I don't think that the death penalty has any place in a civilised society, but some cases are so repulsive and sickening that it feels like no punishment could possibly be harsh enough. I hope he dies in severe pain when his time comes

It's something I think about a lot Lottapianos. There are so many cases of men and boys attacking girls and women for no other reason than the victims are female - those aren't just cases but so many lives scarred forever, the impact immense. In so many of them there are no arrests either, let alone trials or convictions, but even a conviction won't heal the damage done for many. So many lives taken or damaged irreparably because of being female lives - I find it enraging.

I share your sentiments on the latter point as well. It probably isn't the kind of thing I should think but can't help doing so.

Also on Stephanie Slater: she worked tirelessly with police to help them treat female victims more sensitively than she felt she’d been. Such a caring thing to do after what she'd been through, determined to help other women and girls and make sure they'd be treated well by authorities in the most awful of circumstances.

Absolutely. No one would have blamed her if she had lived as a recluse for the rest of her life and avoided contact with everyone. She must have made such a difference to so many fellow survivors