THE great grandfather of Star Hobson has said “she will never be forgotten” on the fifth anniversary of her tragic death.
Star was murdered at just 16-months-old on September 22, 2020 by her mother’s partner. She would have been six years old now.
David Fawcett, 65, Star’s great grandfather, said it’s important to always remember the toddler and that “she will never be forgotten”.
He added: “We had her birthday thing in May, we always try do little bits – do all the graves, special flowers, and balloons and things.
“We always do a little something for her, she’s got her own site.
“With it being five years it’s a bit of a milestone.”
Star’s great grandma, Anita Smith, 75 – who is related to Star by blood and is David’s long-term partner – still struggles with the tragic loss.
David said: “It’s difficult because Anita really struggles with it.
“It’s really made her quite ill.”
Savannah Brockhill, who David says they call “the monster”, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years at Bradford Crown Court on December 15, 2021 for killing baby Star.
This was after a heart-wrenching eight-week trial where the courtroom witnessed the sustained horrific child abuse the toddler suffered before her untimely death when Brockhill attacked Star.
Brockhill and Star’s mum, Frankie Smith, were at their flat in Wesley Place, Keighley when Brockhill inflicted a vicious blow or blows, either punches, kicks or stamps on Star with a severe degree of force in the living room.
The injuries the defenceless toddler suffered were likened to those usually seen in a car crash by a forensic pathologist.
Smith, who was in the next room on the toilet, was initially sentenced to eight years in prison for causing, or allowing, Star’s death but this was extended to 12 years in March 2022.
During the trial, it was heard that David and Anita looked after Star for about 10 weeks in February 2020 as Smith couldn’t cope.
David said: “She was just amazing.
“We had her until nearly the end of April.
“She was just coming on, at first she was a bit quiet.”
David said in evidence during the trial that Star came to them as “a depressed baby” who “looked so sad and was looking at the floor all the time”.
But the change in Star’s demeanour while under their care was almost immediately noticeable, according to David.
He said: “Someone came into the house and didn’t recognise her, ‘what a difference’”.
But ultimately, Smith collected Star “for an hour” on April 26, 2020 and they never saw their beloved great-granddaughter properly again.
David said: “I just wish we had that time again, those few months, I don’t half miss her.
“I think about her every day, first thing when I get up on a morning.”
He added: “I just loved it, loved having her, she was so happy.
“I’d get home from work and her little face would be up at the window, when they get excited and are jumping up and down.”
Anita also remembers Star on a daily basis by talking to a big picture of her on the fireplace in the living room first thing on a morning.
David said: “Anita walks into her room sees the picture and says ‘hello’ every day.”
The couple often ponder what Star might have been doing as she grew older and all the missed opportunities.
David said: “A little boy on the road was born that week we lost Star, me and Anita always see him and say that would have been Star now, playing out, going to big school.
“She’d have been nagging us to go to Saltaire Festival.”
He added: “Another thing that upsets us as well, you think what she missed out on.”
One of their traditions is taking the kids on the Worth Valley railway Christmas event each year.
David said: “We never got to take her on that, to the cinema, shows and the theatre.”
He added: “I just know she’d have loved it, especially with music, she was right enthusiastic, even though she didn’t speak she made noises.”
Star’s memory is kept alive by her grave site, as well as a memorial bench and tree in Robert’s Park, Saltaire, while a mural in dedication to the toddler in the same park was unveiled in May 2022, although that has since gone, according to David.
Today, David said he will head to Star’s grave with Anita and some other younger family members, including Star’s auntie, Alicia, so they can remember her together.
Share