Parents' plea for help in solving son's killing

The parents of a "beautiful and kind" teenager who was stabbed to death during a night out have appealed for the public to help police find a man suspected of being involved.

Matthew Daulby, 19, was knifed in the chest after two groups clashed outside a bar in Ormskirk, Lancashire, on 29 July, 2023.

Lancashire's police and crime commissioner and the Crimestoppers charity are offering a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of 20-year-old Thomas Dures.

Matthew's mother Angela Daulby said she will always "yearn" to see her son again and tearfully urged anyone with information on the suspect's whereabouts to "please do the right thing".

In an interview with BBC North West Tonight, she said: "It is not natural to outlive your children, and the grief and the pain is with us daily.

"Every day I just wake up and think what I would give to have just five more minutes with Matthew."

Mrs Daulby said her "kind, polite and caring" son had been "really happy" during a traditional Friday night family dinner, and was excited about an upcoming holiday to Ibiza.

She said Matthew then left the family home in Lydiate, on the border of Merseyside and Lancashire, with his girlfriend to meet friends and told his parents "we won't be long".

In the early hours of the following morning Mrs Daulby and her husband Gary received a call to say their son was in Aintree Hospital.

She said: "I don't think anyone could imagine running through Aintree Hospital, and running past people who have just got that look on their face that makes you think; 'this is more serious than I thought it is'.

"Then as the surgeon walked through the door, I just knew that it was not going to be good news."

Lancashire Police said a dispute between two groups inside Alpine Club Lodge bar had spilled outside onto Railway Road, where Matthew was attacked and stabbed.

One man, 20-year-old Henry Houghton, has already been jailed for a minimum of 20 years after being convicted of Matthew's murder on 15 March.

A jury at Preston Crown Court heard Houghton struck Matthew to the head with a rock in a sock, likely disorientating him at the time he was stabbed.

The prosecution accepted, however, that while Houghton shared an intention to seriously hurt or kill Matthew, he did not inflict the fatal stab wound.

Mr Daulby, who worked with his son, said the family feel "stuck in the legal process" and need the help of the public.

"We're still asking why and how this has all happened," he said.

"It's absolutely devastated us as a family and trying to deal with the grief is incomprehensible."

Det Ch Insp Andy Fallows said: "We know that people are assisting [Dures] in evading arrest. I want to make it clear to those people that we will ensure they are arrested and put before the courts.”

Police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw added: "We know that sometimes it’s difficult for people to go to the police about what they know, and that can be for a range of reasons including fear of intimidation or loyalties.

"Matthew's family, together with the wider community, deserve to know what happened."

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