Sister's murder prompts woman to set up support service in Swindon

The alliance, set up by Emma (left), offers a support package for each family

A woman, whose sister was murdered by her estranged husband, has set up a support service in the hope her experience of grief might help others.

Emma King, 40, set up the Swindon Sisters Alliance in July 2020, offering short breaks to families in need.

Inspired by her own "mental health and heart ache" she said she wanted the not-for-profit organisation to ensure others "don't suffer alone".

Julie Butcher, 25, was killed by Richard Butcher in Wiltshire in 2005.

Butcher pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to serve a minimum of 13 years in prison.

Children 'become carers'

Mrs King said: "I want to use what I've been through to help others in the community.

"For us as a family during a domestic abuse case, we were a family left behind."

She said she hoped that by offering support and short breaks to families they could "make happy memories" in an otherwise difficult time.

Emma's sister, Julie (left), was murdered by Richard Butcher

Mrs King, who was in her early 20s when her sister was strangled, said she understood what it felt like to "not really be living in the present" because of what happens.

"And for adults going through grief, children can become the carers because you're incapable of fulfilling the parent role," she added.

She said she hoped the holiday accommodation and meal vouchers they offered vulnerable families in Brean, Somerset, would help them to "feel differently".

'So many hurdles'

"To see them coming back after seven days, its priceless," she said.

"It means the world to a family who may never have been on a holiday with their children."

Mrs King said the Swindon Sisters Alliance offered day trips too because "sometimes people aren't ready for a holiday".

She said the alliance offers a support package for each family and works with organisations to identify what help they might need.

Mrs King said: "There's a lot of help out there but you have to go through so many hurdles and loops and don't always feel it's easy to get there."

She said the community in Swindon had fully supported the group and she hoped it could achieve charity status in the next year to enable them to offer even more in future.

She said: "I'm all for positivity and as much as I'm on my own personal journey, I'm all for helping other people on theirs."