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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Paul Byrne

'When ISIS Beatles brutally murdered my brother they killed our mum and dad too'

The brother of an aid worker beheaded by ISIS says the brutal murder led to their parents’ deaths.

Mike Haines says he has forgiven cruel killer Alexanda Kotey for the sickening crime.

But he says the loss of David, 44, devastated their parents, Mary and Chris.

London-born Kotey, 38, was sentenced to life in the US last week.

He was a member of a terror cell who became nicknamed the Beatles because of their British accents.

They tortured and executed hostages in Syria including David, from Perth, Scotland. He was murdered in 2014. His body has never been found.

His brother Mike, 55, told ITV ’s Good Morning Britain yesterday his how his mum “faded” after her son’s death.

David with parents Mary and Chris (UGC)

Mrs Haines, from Ayr, Scotland, died the following year, aged, 81.

Her husband passed away in 2017 aged 80.

Mike said: “When David was murdered my mum slowly gave up on life as she slowly faded away.”

He said his father had been in the first stages of dementia when David was kidnapped and added: “In the 48 hours after I told my parents, my family, that David had gone, his dementia got so much worse. Again, he slowly faded.”

Alexanda Kotey (REUTERS)

Kotey admitted eight charges related to kidnapping, torturing and executing hostages from 2012 to 2015.

His fellow Beatle El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, will be sentenced in August.

The pair listened to emotional impact statements from victims’ families in a Virginia court on Friday.

Mike says he has forgiven his brother's killer (PA)

David’s daughter Bethany, 24, told Kotey: “I hope you rot in hell.”

Mike, from Dundee, who now runs educational charity Global Acts of Unity, told Kotey: “For too long now you and your cohort have held power over me and my family.

“I am no longer willing to let that happen. I forgive you.”

He said Kotey’s only reaction was a blink. He added he did not feel the anger and hate he had expected, only “closure”.

Another member of the terror cell, Mohammed Emwazi, 27, “Jihadi John”, died in a drone strike in Syria in 2015.

A fourth member, Aine Davis, 38, was jailed in Turkey in 2017.

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