The mum of a teenage boy found dead in the woods after going missing for over a week has spoken about the heartbreaking torment she faces every day.
Nineteen-year-old Richard Okorogheye's lifeless body was found in Epping Forest on 5 April 2021 after going missing from his home in west London for over a week.
His mother Evidence Joel told The Independent: "Richard left a big hole and life has never been the same. Sometimes I imagine he’s travelled and he’ll come back but it’s a year now and that seems impossible.
"Each day to me is torment, I’m still waiting for him to knock on the door and say mummy."
It was only after a major police search that the student was found in a pond in the woods 30 miles away from his home.
His family have criticised the initial Metropolitan Police response to Richard's disappearance. His mum claimed officers failed to take the missing person report seriously and said they told her “If you can’t find your son, how can we?”
While the investigation into the cause of death is still ongoing, the Met previously confirmed it had found no evidence of assault or physical trauma.
Ms Joel added: "I don’t know if my life will be the same again, I don’t know if I’ll be a normal person. When he left he took part of me with him, part of me left. He’s my only child - I just couldn’t imagine life without my son.”
She said the days since March 22, the one-year anniversary of Richard's disappearance, had been a "rollercoaster" as the family waits to find out what happened to the university student who suffered from the genetic blood disorder, sickle cell.
"The feeling will never go away . he will always be my baby, my little boy," she added.
"He was my best friend, he could look at me in his face and know what’s wrong with mummy. I miss his kind words, I miss him when he says ‘mummy I love you, mummy have you eaten?’ The love that has no stain, it’s genuine."
