Judge leaves money to murder victim's charity

A judge left money in his will to a foundation set up in memory of a woman murdered by two teenagers he jailed.

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, which was set up after the 20-year-old was murdered in Bacup, Lancashire, in 2007, said it had received £5,000 from Judge Anthony Russell QC's will.

"Judge Russell's legacy reflects his belief in the work we do and we are honoured to have been remembered in this way," the foundation posted on Facebook.

Sophie died 13 days after she was attacked in Stubbylee Park while trying to protect her boyfriend Robert Maltby, 21, from attack by two teenagers.

The judge jailed Brendan Harris and Ryan Herbert, who were aged 15 and 16 at the time of the attack, for life for Sophie's murder.

On sentencing the pair at Preston Crown Court in 2008, he described the attack on Sophie as she tried to protect her boyfriend as "feral thuggery".

He said: "This was a hate crime against these completely harmless people targeted because their appearance was different to yours."

Sophie's mother Sylvia founded the charity, and was made an OBE for her work to campaign against hate crime.

In 2022, when Sylvia died, the charity said it had had "some very thoughtful" correspondence from Judge Russell, including his memories of Sylvia and the trial.

The foundation said: "Sylvia was forever grateful to Judge Russell for recognising Sophie’s murder as a hate crime and sentencing accordingly.

"He stated very clearly that no change in the law was needed to recognise alternative subculture hate crime, and this recognition of an unmonitored strand of hate crime meant the world to Sylvia."

It added: "We owe him our thanks for so much.

"May he rest in peace."

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