Yousef Makki’s mum ‘felt walls closing in’ before death as she faced isolation after teen son’s knife killing
THE mum of Yousef Makki was "depressed" and "felt like the walls were closing in on her" after her teenage son was stabbed to death, her daughter has said.
Debbie Makki, 54, "fought to her last breath" but died yesterday morning, Jade Akoum confirmed.
The mum's death came just a year after her son Yousef, 17, was knifed to death on a street in Hale Barns, a village south of Manchester.
Yesterday, Jade announced that mum Debbie passed away in the early hours of the morning - saying "at least you are with Yousef now".
She added: "My mum’s mental and physically health had deteriorated dramatically over the past year and she hadn’t been the same since Yousef.
"Her heart was broken and the spark in her eyes had gone.
"The toll of losing Yousef was colossal."
GRIEVING MUM
Jade told : "Mum fought to her last breath. She was depressed, she did find the lockdown particularly stressful, but she never lost any of her determination. I think she felt the walls were closing in on her.
"She was isolating with my brother, Mazen. Me and the kids saw her twice when we passed some shopping to her over the fence."
Debbie, who suffered with a severe form of arthritis, was forced to be far from her grandchildren - who had "kept her going" as she grieved for her son - due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Jade said her mum fell ill on Wednesday with an infection and by Friday she was on life support in ICU at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester.
Debbie was tested for Covid-19 but the swab was negative, Jade said - adding that doctors think "she had an infection which developed into sepsis".
The grieving daughter and sister said: "I feel she died of broken heart, she found it so hard to keep going after losing Yousef."
The family confirmed Debbie's death in a statement on Facebook, reading: "We love you so so much, I didn't think my heart could take any more pain and loss and grief.
"Please say a prayer for her soul today & pray for my little brother who has lost 2 of the closest people to him in the space of a year & all of us that have been left behind.
"Mum died with a broken heart & we knew she wanted justice for Yousef & I promise you mum we won't give up until we get it for you."
Yousef was tragically stabbed on March 2 last year but no one was ever found guilty of his murder.
CAMPAIGNING FOR JUSTICE
Joshua Molnar, 18, was cleared of murder and manslaughter following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court in July last year, telling the jury he acted in self-defence after Yousef pulled a blade on him.
Mum Debbie had been campaigning for justice for her son - admitting in an interview in October last year she did not think the family would ever be able to put their lives back together.
Speaking at an anti-knife rally, she told of her devastation at the death of her teen son.
Recounting the moment she had rushed to the hospital, she said: "As I reached the hospital the surgeon stood in front of me and shook his head.
"I knew then it was too late and my boy had gone.
"He'd been found dying in the road, alone. No one to help him, or cuddle or speak to him, in his final moments.
"The reality of knife crime is, unless you have lost a loved one, especially a child, knowing you can't touch your child because he is now a piece of forensic evidence.
"My boy, who I have protected for 17 years and watched him grow into a loving, beautiful and intelligent young man was never going to walk into my room again."
Ms Makki and the family have been calling for a full inquest into Yousef's death, and at a pre-inquest hearing in February their legal representative Matthew Stanbury said matters surrounding the teenager's death "have not been sufficiently aired".
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Molnar admitted possession of a knife and perverting the course of justice by initially lying to police about what had happened, and was given 16 months in custody.
The teen was arrested alongside Adam Chowdhary, 18, who bought the flick knife that killed Yousef online.
Cowdhary, then 17, was later acquitted of perverting the course of justice. He was given a four-month detention order after admitting possession of a flick knife.
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