Mother left 'shattered' after son stabbed to death

Joshua Barr's family said he was a "caring, strong and a fighter... everyone that met him said he had such a kind soul"

A woman who found out her son had been murdered on Mother's Day said her reality had been "shattered" by knife crime.

Father-of-one Joshua Barr, 31, was stabbed multiple times and found collapsed in Ferrars Way, Cambridge, at about 05:00 GMT on Sunday,10 March.

Tyler Marshall, 20, of no fixed address, and Cameron Stokes, 23 of Highfield Close in South Glamorgan, were given life sentences for killing him earlier this week.

The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "Where I once saw the world in colour, I now only see it in black and white."

Joshua was "a ray of sunshine", his family said

During the trail at Peterborough Crown Court, jurors heard Mr Barr has been stabbed over a debt owed by his friend.

In a statement, released through Cambridgeshire Police, his mother said she did not know why she had not heard from her son on Mothering Sunday.

"When police officers arrived I then knew of course, he wasn’t going to contact me. Not this Mother’s Day or any other," she said.

'No more hopes and dreams'

"I was overwhelmed with panic, distress and was confused at the news. I couldn’t believe it. My reality was shattered," she added.

"I later learned that Joshua died on a pavement, and I was not there to comfort him.

"He must have been so scared and afraid, lying there in pain.

"There is nothing Joshua would have ever done to justify being stabbed so many times. I wake at night not being able to breathe. I am haunted with saturated thoughts of my son's final moments.

"My son has gone, no more hopes and dreams, no more Father's or Mother’s day. No more Christmas or birthday celebrations. His brutal murder has destroyed so many lives.

"This is the reality of knife crime and carrying a knife. It’s not a game. It’s real. Joshua didn’t die, he was murdered with a knife."

Chief Insp Oliver Warsop said: "The devastating effects of knife crime and serious violence on victims, their families and the wider communities cannot be underestimated."

Stokes must serve a minimum term of 21 years and 132 days before being considered for release from jail, while Marshall was given a minimum term of 15 years and 132 days.