The mother of a Harry Potter star who was stabbed to death keeps to the same heartbreaking ritual every day as she wakes up and kisses a picture of her son while the kettle boils. Rob Knox was 18 when he was murdered on the street in south east London while protecting his brother on May 24, 2008, the Mirror reports.
The teen had just celebrated the end of filming for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which he was 'thrilled' to be cast in as Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby. Now 15 years on his mum, Sally Knox, has opened up about her insurmountable grief ahead of a new ITV documentary about her son's murder.
She said: "I get up every morning and give him a couple of kisses. The awful feelings and wanting to cry all the time does get less, although it never goes away." Rob who would now be 33 was killed by Karl Bishop outside a pub after the thug threatened to stab his younger brother, Jamie and the brave teen tried to stop him.
Bishop, who had just been released from prison for another stabbing, plunged his knife into Rob five times and the actor passed away a short while later in hospital. Sally and her ex-husband Colin Knox received the devastating news over the phone from Jamie.
She recalled what had happened earlier that day as she said: "There was a lot of excitement in the house. They were planning their first lads' trip to Zante [Greece] in two weeks and having a drink in the kitchen.
"Rob’s friend Callum said, 'Where’s your six-pack?' Rob was a bit over-weight, and laughed and said, 'I’m working on it.' Then Callum said he was going to buy Rob one of those tie-on aprons with the six-pack on it.
"We all laughed. That’s the last conversation we had. They left for the pub at 7.30pm and he shouted goodbye.
"I called out to Jamie to be back by midnight as he was only 17." As the night went on, Sally said she had inkling that her sons were in danger.
Outside the bar, convicted killer Karl Bishop who had been barred the week before after an argument with Rob and some punters was lashing out at the group and threatening to hurt them. He disappeared and came back armed with two kitchen knives which he used to threaten Rob's friend Nick.
Jamie and his pal Callum were in a car outside and ran out to help but when Bishop turned his knives on them, the 17-year-old called his older brother for help. Rob tried to get rid of Bishop but the 22-year-old thug fatally stabbed him multiple times.
Sally recalls: "It was just before midnight and I was cross because Jamie still wasn’t back, so I called his mobile. No answer.
"Then I got a call and it was Jamie, almost hysterical, saying, ‘Mum, get down to the Metro Bar now, Rob’s been stabbed, it’s bad.' I don't even remember driving the car there but I saw police and ambulances everywhere because four other people had been stabbed.
"I saw Jamie running up the road and abandoned the car. I was desperately trying to get to Rob but the police wouldn’t let me through."
Police eventually told Sally that she and Jamie could follow the ambulance to the hospital but they were told to wait in the family room. She remembers thinking ‘Please God, don’t let him die’ as she checked on the mum of another one of Rob's friends who had been stabbed through the hand.
40 minutes later, Rob was sadly pronounced dead. Sally says: "I just remember sitting down. I didn’t scream or anything, but I got really angry. I told them, ‘I need to see him, I need to see him. But I wasn’t allowed to because they said, ‘He is evidence’."
Sally did not get to her son until the following day when she was allowed into the chapel of rest. She says: "I can remember walking in and thinking, ‘My God, he looks completely normal.'
"He had a little plaster on his head. He looked like he was smiling." Police warned the mum that Rob’s death would be on the news and she was concerned about letting family in Australia know first.
However, Sally also had to come to terms with the fact that her young son had been murdered. She says: "All I could be thankful for was that after Rob had been stabbed, his mates all jumped on Bishop.
"I remember thinking, ‘Thank God he’s been arrested.'" Bishop was convicted of murder and jailed for a minimum of 20 years.
Sally receives a letter from Victim Support every year which updates her on the killer’s jail conditions and is aware he could be eligible for parole in 2028. Ahead of a new ITV documentary, she said: "I’ve been very good at leaving him out of my head.
"Whatever happens, I can’t dwell on it. Rob would hate me being an angry person." The mum, who is still struggling to cope with her son's death, continues to fight waves of grief that come out of the blue and are triggered by everyday things such as a song on the radio.
Rob had loved American Boy by Estelle and Kanye West which was played at his funeral. Sally often visits his grave and smiles when she sees cigarettes and cans of beer her friends have left at his side.
She says: "If Rob had lived he would have been acting still. He would have been a great dad, he was so good with children – he once came to meet me and a friend, who’d just had a baby, in Pizza Express.
"He offered to hold the baby so we could eat. That was the kind of person he was – not a saint, but a kind-hearted boy."
Her son Jamie now lives in Yorkshire with his wife and child. Sally and Colin have set up The Rob Knox Foundation which supports youths and educates them about the dangers of carrying knives for protection.
Sally said: "Knife crime is getting worse. And every time it happens, my heart goes out to their family because I know what they’re going through.
"There isn’t an appropriate punishment for carrying a knife, something desperately needs to happen to stop senseless deaths like Rob’s." The ITV documentary is directed by Aaron Truss who was a pal of Rob and is using the film to pay tribute to his acting pal.
Speaking of how they met, he said: "Rob and I grew up around the corner from each other, but we didn’t become close friends until we went to theatre school. He was really adventurous, he was outgoing and he’d always make us laugh.
"He had this sense of calmness and seemed bulletproof to me. It was all the more shocking when he was killed; a reality check.
"I hope people will see Rob the real guy, not just the Harry Potter star, because there’s a bit of Rob in all of us. He’s been robbed of his entire adult life – I’d much prefer him bringing joy to the world, rather than being a beacon of warning."
(K)nox: The Rob Knox story is now available to watch on ITVX.
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