Libby Squire: Murderer turns down meeting with victim's mother

Lisa Squire said she wanted to be in "the same space as who Libby was with" in her daughter's final moments

A man who raped and murdered student Libby Squire has withdrawn his consent to meet his victim's mother in prison.

Pawel Relowicz, 28, was convicted in February 2021 of killing Miss Squire and jailed for at least 27 years.

The 21-year-old's body was found in the Humber Estuary seven weeks after she vanished following a night out in Hull in January 2019.

Her mother Lisa Squire said she was "shocked" when Relowicz, who had agreed to meet her, changed his mind.

He had previously said he would see Mrs Squire as part of a restorative justice scheme under which she hoped he would eventually reveal details of her daughter's last moments.

"I was really tearful and it knocked me," said Mrs Squire about Relowicz's decision to withdraw from the meeting.

"I was very, very upset and I was really surprised by my reaction because I didn't think I would be like that.

"He says he's appealing his case and if he's appealing a case, then you can't speak legally. You can't speak to him, which makes sense, but we don't have any evidence that he's appealing the case at the moment, so he'll have his reasons."

Lisa Squire: "Apart from this massive Libby-shaped hole, we have a really nice life"

The neo-natal nurse said she was told Relowicz might revisit his decision in nine months.

"I've asked if we can look at it again in June so, hopefully, we'll have some answers then," she said.

"But if he came back earlier and said 'yes I'm ready now' then, of course, I'd go with it. But the chances of that are quite slim."

Serial sex offender and father-of-two Relowicz was convicted of rape and murder following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

However, pathologists were unable to establish how the student died, or whether she was still alive when she went into the river, because of the amount of time her body had been in the water.

Mrs Squire has been campaigning for women to be better protected

Mrs Squire, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, said she would keep trying "until I get to meet him" in a bid to understand her daughter's final moments.

"It's about being in the same space as him, so I'll just keep going," she explained.

"I still feel the same. I don't hate him.

"I choose not to go down that path, because for me, I am a very emotional person and I know if I'm filled with hatred, it will consume me, and then I won't be able to function in any other areas of my life. Apart from this massive Libby-shaped hole, we have a really nice life."

"I just know if I'm filled with hate, I will be in that really dark place for a long time."

Polish-born Pawel Relowicz worked as a butcher in Malton, North Yorkshire

Mrs Squire has campaigned for tougher measures for men convicted of non-contact sexual offences, such as upskirting and voyeurism, and earlier intervention in treatment for such offenders.

Relowicz had previous convictions for voyeurism, performing sex acts in public and stealing underwear from women's homes.