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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Hollie Bone

Ava White's mum 'thought there'd been a mistake' when told daughter, 12, had been stabbed

The mum of a 12-year-old girl who was stabbed to death at a Christmas lights switch-on said she is living a 'life sentence'.

Schoolgirl Ava White died when she was stabbed in the neck by a boy who was just 14 at the time.

The pair had argued over footage posted on Snapchat at the Liverpool lights switch-on November 25 last year.

The boy who cannot be named, was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 13 years in prison following a trial in July.

But speaking publicly for the first time since the attack today, Ava's mum, Leanne, 39, told BBC Radio Merseyside: "We're the ones living the life sentence."

Ava's mother has spoken out about her daughter's murder (Leanne White)

She added: "It's easier for the offender to do the crime, get 13 years in jail and come out after that. It's us doing the life sentence, and Ava".

The family have since set up the Ava White Foundation which is campaigning to put life saving bleed packs across their home city in Merseyside.

The packs will provide a lifeline blood supply to stop victims of crime bleeding out.

To commemorate a year since her killing, Ava's family have also asked Brits to light a candle in their home tonight.

Tributes were left near the scene of the attack (Liverpool Echo)

Recalling the night Ava was killed, she said: "I just remember getting a phone call off my sister saying Ava had been stabbed… and I can remember thinking she's made some kind of mistake… Ava won't have been stabbed.

"I went straight up to Alder Hey and then everything was just a blur."

In the weeks after Ava died, floral tributes and teddy bears were laid in the city centre where she was attacked.

Last month, Ava's older sister Mia, 19, spoke out about the loss of her sister and the toll it had taken on their family as she helps her mum run the foundation to stop knife crime.

She said: "Every single day, I always go to ring Ava and text her just to see what she's doing. I don't think it's ever going to sink in.

Ava's sister described her as 'loving' (BBC Breakfast)

"It needs to start at a really young age, wanting to engage. Because why would you ever want to ruin someone else's life and your own?

"No one should be going through what we're going through. But if I can stop one child from putting a knife in their pocket..."

Remembering her daughter today, Leanne added: "She was funny, she was a practical joker. She was always hiding behind the doors popping out when I was doing the dishes… jumping scaring me. She loved trampolining, she loved gymnastics," she said.

"She had a lot of friends. I still speak with her friends."

Leanne and Mia have also recently met up other families who had also lost people who were stabbed.

Ava with mum Leanne and sister Mia (PA)
Ava was just 12 years old when she was killed (PA)

She said: "It's devastating to meet someone who's feeling exactly the same way you're feeling, it's heartbreaking.

"And then to meet siblings… to see what they're going through.

"I see Mia go through it on a daily basis and it's just heartbreaking."

The anniversary of the schoolgirl's death also marks White Ribbon Day, a campaign to end violence against women and girls.

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