Mum 'tortured' by daughter's murder by cage fighter

Rebekah Campbell was "kind and so nice to everyone", her mother said

The mother of a woman who was murdered by a former cage fighter said it "tortures me" to think how her daughter suffered "just because she didn't want to be in a relationship".

Michael Ormandy, 34, was jailed for a minimum of 24 years for stabbing Rebekah Campbell in a "vicious and ferocious" attack at her flat in Huyton, Merseyside, on 15 April.

Her mother Deborah Woolerton said she had only met Ormandy "about ten or 12 weeks earlier".

She said 32-year-old Rebekah was her "best friend" and was "kind and so nice to everyone" and "all she wanted was to be happy and one day have a little family of her own".

Ms Woolerton said in a victim impact statement: "No parent, brother, family or friend should ever have to go through this pain.

"We couldn't give Rebekah a big hug, tell her we loved her or say goodbye because he took her from us in this very horrible traumatic way.

"I will never understand how or why he decided to do this to our lovely Rebekah, who was just so nice to everyone."

Michael Ormandy stabbed Rebekah Campbell 27 times

She continued: "We are and will be forever heartbroken. We miss her so much every day.

"Shine bright, watch over us especially her brother. We will miss you and your great big smile always."

Ms Woolerton said their "beautiful girl" should "still with us, having fun, living life to the full, making others smile, making plans for the bright future she had ahead of her".

"All she wanted in life was to be happy and one day have a little family of her own. Most of all, she wanted children. We won't get to see her do any of these things now," she continued.

"Rebekah was not just my daughter, she was my best friend, always there to check I was all right."

She said she was also "the best big sister to Jaime" and they "went everywhere together, even on nights out and walks with her dog, Clio, who was her baby".

She said she has "terrible nightmares" and struggles to sleep after her daughter's murder.

'Posed no threat'

"It tortures me so much to think of how she suffered at the hands of Mick Ormandy, who she had only met about 10 or 12 weeks earlier," she said.

"She must have been so scared."

"This should never have happened to Rebekah, just because she didn't want to be in a relationship."

On sentencing, Judge Andrew Menary KC, told Ormandy he was "a deeply unpleasant and very dangerous man".

He said: "You had been in a relationship for about four months. Although there must have been good times, it was a relationship that was becoming increasingly turbulent and marked by frequent arguments.

"I'm sure Rebekah never armed herself with a knife at any time and never posed any threat to you.

"She simply told you to get out. That was enough to set you off on your murderous attack."

Det Supt Ben Myers said: "Rebekah's family have shown dignity and courage throughout the trial, which must have been incredibly difficult as Ormandy chose to deny the offence despite the overwhelming evidence against him."