Yordanos Brhane: Murdered teen refugee cried when let into England

Yordanos Brhane and Pascale Hansez met up in Coventry where "they had a great day"

A volunteer who worked with migrants trying to reach the UK has told how murdered Yordanos Brhane cried when she heard she could stay in England.

Pascale Hansez met Miss Brhane, a refugee from Eritrea, when she was in Belgium and had been arranging to meet her in Birmingham when she died.

The 19-year-old was stabbed to death in July 2021 by a man who was "obsessed with her" after she rejected him.

On Tuesday, Halefom Weldeyohannes was jailed for her murder.

Kisanet, Yordanos's sister, and Yordanos with Kisanet's son in Norway. Yordanos had travelled to Norway but had not been allowed to stay

Weldeyohannes, from Sheffield, lost his temper when Miss Brhane said she did not have romantic feelings for him. He was jailed for life, with a minimum of 21 years, after stabbing her and strangling her.

She had recently arrived in Birmingham after leaving Eritrea in 2017.

• Yordanos: Teen's dream turned to tragedy

• Obsessed killer jailed for Birmingham stabbing

Ms Hansez met Miss Brhane in February 2020 when she was called to pick up Miss Brhane from a train station, after she had been refused leave to stay in Norway where her sister and brother were.

"She looked very tired and she was freezing and I gave her my sleeping bag which I transported in my car just in case," she said.

Miss Brhane, who she described as shy and reserved, was left in accommodation with about 50 other refugees and they would spend their nights trying to reach England on a truck, she said.

When the Covid pandemic broke out in March the accommodation closed and Miss Brhane was moved into a building, with three other refugees, close to hers. Ms Hansez said she spent a lot of time with them and got to know Miss Brhane better.

The shared house in Unett Street in Birmingham where Yordanos's body was found

"She was very talented. She cooked for us the best injeras [pancake-like flatbread], she liked drawing and we kept her paintings as a souvenir," she said.

Miss Brhane told her all about her family, her journey and how she had not been allowed to remain in Norway. She was also deeply religious and spent a lot of time praying.

"She was liked by everyone because of her empathy and respect for others. She wanted to help people."

Eventually Miss Brhane decided to leave, against Ms Hansez's wishes, and follow her friends to England. More than 70 refugees lived under two bridges near a motorway service area, to get the best chance of getting on a lorry to England.

"We bought them food and water every day. Sometimes I took her to a place she could have a shower. They had to hide from the police. It was a bad time," said Ms Hansez.

Halefom Weldeyohannes stabbed Yordanos Brhane 15 times and strangled her

But Miss Brhane was also protected by her friends and eventually she arrived in England staying in a hotel with other migrants in Coventry.

In March 2021, Miss Brhane got the news she could stay in England. She was crying when she called Ms Hansez to tell her and her plan was to go to school.

On 29 July Ms Hansez called her but Miss Brhane was busy. The teenager sent her a message in the evening and Ms Hansez was going to call to fix a time to meet in Birmingham.

"And then I received this terrible phone call from one of her friends on Sunday 1 August."

Miss Brhane was too good for this world, Ms Hansez said.

"She loved her family so much and they loved her."

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