The heartbroken son of a murdered woman has spoken out two years on from her horrific death at the hands of his dad. The senseless killing of Yvonne McCann in Stockport not only shattered a family, but rocked the community.
The 46-year-old beloved mum was strangled to death by estranged husband Thomas McCann following a petty row over frozen chips being left out of the freezer. He then dismembered her and placed her body parts in bin bags in a local country park.
In May 2021 he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years after pleading guilty to her murder.
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Now Callum Lawson, Yvonne’s eldest son, has bravely told of the nightmare he has lived with since his ‘best friend’ was reported missing.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , he said: “It was May 23, and we’d organised a BBQ. My dad said he’d been in an argument with mum and she had walked out, and mum replied [to my invite[ saying: “OK .. your dad is a mong so he might be on his own.” I just said ‘Right OK, see you later’.”
“I didn’t think anything of it - then I got the text from my sister that mum was missing.”
During the morning, Callum’s sister Rachel left for work, saying goodbye to her mum as she left. She came home and found nobody was there. Days later Thomas turned up at the BBQ and was seen drinking whisky, which was an unusual sight as he didn't drink alcohol.
“He kept going upstairs to the toilet every two minutes and was looking at his phone. Now I know he had her phone with him. He then went to get in his car and I took his car keys off him as he was drunk,” he said. “Once I’d got to him, he said to me: “Callum. It’s me or the kids, you decide.” and I said ‘my kids’.
“He then said: “'I’ve got something to tell you'. Then two or three people walked past. I think he wanted to tell me what he’d done.”
After searching through his pockets when he passed out on the sofa, Rachel and their brother Josh found Yvonne’s mobile phone and her rings, and immediately knew something was wrong.
“If I’d have seen him with those I’d have questioned him. He was drunk, he probably would have told me the truth. I wish he did tell me, I would have phoned the police straight away,” Callum said.
After receiving a worried call from his sister that their mum was missing, they began noticing on social media that a body had been found by dog walkers. It would later become known that Thomas had dismembered Yvonne’s body and left her remains in Reddish Vale Country Park.
“All of a sudden we were all out looking. I was ringing her partner. I was ringing my dad but he just didn’t want to answer the phone, he said.
“Then I got a message from my brother saying dad had been arrested on suspicion of murder - my heart just sank. I felt my soul was dragged out of me.”
The next few months went by in a blur before Thomas appeared at Manchester Crown Court for sentence. Callum said he didn’t want to listen to what happened, but felt like he had to for his mum.
Since his dad’s incarceration the family have been left broken, split between their love for their parents and the hideous act that took Yvonne’s life.
“She was my best friend, she was always there when I needed her. She was happy and kind and always there for anybody,” Callum said.
“Now she’s gone I feel like my soul has been dragged out of my stomach. I felt like I was in a dream. For weeks I didn’t eat, I didn’t drink, I thought I was going to die one day anyway so it didn’t matter. I then started having a few bits and slowly got back to normal.
“Sometimes I can’t sleep at night. I close my eyes and she’s there, with her smile. I have children and she would take them out and do anything she could for them. She never met my youngest daughter. I’m always missing that piece of jigsaw to the part of my life. He has taken the world from me.”
Callum said that his parents would often argue, but there were no incidents of domestic violence prior to her death. “He used to run off with other women, he would come back and they would argue and would push each other around. Apart from that, nothing else happened,” he said.
“Then she was murdered. I think they were eventually going to get back together. I don’t know if he killed her so no one else could have her. (Before the killing) he kept saying he loves her and wants her back. I just said it’s about time he let her be happy.”
Callum said his dad had struggled with mental health issues in the past, and had previously attempted suicide. He said he’d spoken to his dad three times since he’s been jailed.
“He’s the only person I can speak to about it, but I can’t speak to him because he’s done it,” he said.
“You don’t decide one day you're going to kill someone, there in the moment. He said he left her body on the floor for an hour as he was panicking what to do. And then he ended up doing what he did to her. I feel sick thinking about it.”
By speaking out about the impact his mum’s death has had on him and his family, Callum is hoping to raise awareness about the devastation of grief, and the importance of keeping his mum’s legacy alive.
“My mum’s not here, I’ve got no one. When people ask how the family is or what I’ve been up to, I have to tell them what happened, even some people at my work don’t know,” he said.
“They say “I’m so sorry for you”, and I just say “don’t worry about it, it’s life, I’ll get over it, I’ve got to try to be strong.”
“All I can think about is that one day mum will knock on my door, to this day my heart is always stuck in my mouth. I always wish we could turn back time to a happy life like I was a kid again. Mum’s always there in my head and I know she'll always be by my side."
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