The father of a 19-year-old kid who was fatally stabbed has shattered his family ever since, according to his father.
Rob Freckleton and his family were left “broken” on December 11 of last year when their teenage son’s life was “taken.”
The day before his 20th birthday, Oliver Freckleton, who had only lately become a parent himself, was fatally stabbed at a home in Stretton, Burton.
“To say that our lives have been ruined is an understatement. I have never felt such anguish,” Mr. Freckleton stated.
I had to go to the morgue to identify Oliver, and I’ll remember that moment for the rest of my life.
“Our family has had a tremendously hard time accepting Oliver’s accident.” We won’t ever be able to accept it, in my opinion. We are damaged. Oliver’s life had been taken; he had not lost it.
In January of next year, eight teens and one adult will go on trial for Oliver’s murder. They all have refuted the accusation.
Oliver would have been 21 on December 12 [this year], and I should [have been] delivering a speech, Mr. Freckleton remarked as the anniversary of his son’s passing drew near. I was only able to speak at his funeral.
Mr. Freckleton remembers the “overpowering emotion in my heart” when his son Oliver was born in 2001.
He described Oliver as someone who was always on the go and detested being cooped up indoors.
We would hop in the vehicle on the weekends and go on “magical mystery tours,” looking for new locations to go on adventures.
He adored vacations, and we took many—to the Spanish islands, Turkey, and Egypt—but Oliver’s favourite was a caravan park near the ocean.
Fishing was one of Oliver’s greatest loves. At one of the several lakes they visited, he would spend the whole day with his grandfather.
He travelled to Cornwall for a vacation with his grandparents, when Oliver caught a lake record carp.
Oliver enjoyed playing sports, particularly football, where he excelled as a goalie and received several honours. When he tried golf, it once again appeared to flow effortlessly to him.
He had an incredible affinity with and compassion for animals. In addition to Bobby the greyhound, we also had a tortoise, a fish, many hamsters, a fish, budgies, and a rabbit. We used to make light of the idea of charging admission to Oliver’s zoo.
Oliver was characterised by his father as having a “infectious giggle with the largest, cheekiest grin” and “would light up whatever place he came into.”
Oliver found the love of his life at a gathering near our home, and the two have never looked back, according to Mr. Freckleton.
Oliver was a person who detested being cooped up indoors and who much enjoyed fishing. Pictured are Mr. Freckleton and little Oliver fishing.
“Until the day he told us he was going to be a parent, we had never seen him so pleased.” While Oliver and his fiancée were walking around our home, I could sense the happiness in his eyes despite their seeming nervousness.
“I knew Oliver felt the same thoughts as I had all those years ago the moment I saw Oliver with his kid,” the woman said.
Since then, Oliver’s family has been collecting money for the neighbourhood Street Whyze Project, which was founded with the intention of collaborating with regional organisations to discourage individuals from owning and using knives.
It follows a significant number of knife-related crimes in Burton and Swadlincote, including the stabbing murder of 17-year-old Benjamin Orton in a Swadlincote alleyway.
‘We contacted the Street Whyze project after we read an article about Oliver on their website,’ said Mr. Freckleton, who works close to Burton.
Danny [Mondesir, managing director of the Street Whyze Project], has always been there for us. He and I have been collaborating to educate young people about knife crime.
I want to collaborate with him to spread knowledge and stop these heinous actions from becoming commonplace.
Argos Barton, Mr. Freckleton’s company, has agreed to provide £5,000 to assist spread the word to universities and schools. They also gave him an additional £5,000 for the Daniel Baird Foundation.
We made a vow to Oliver at his burial that we would be the greatest possible parents to his brother and grandparents to his daughter. This is why I am working with Street Whyze and the Daniel Baird Foundation, he added.
What better approach to improve things than to make them safer for our kids? I hope Oliver is happy of us because Oliver made us proud.
The Street Whyze Project offers focused interventions in the neighbourhood and provides assistance to those who have been adversely impacted by knife crime.
However, managing director Mr. Mondesir said that more measures were required to end knife crime.
Even though knife crime has increased in Burton and Swadlincote, he added, “we have found several obstacles when attempting to work in conjunction with some of the authorities who, sadly, only seem to be operating reactively.”
While the Police and Fire Commissioner, Ben Adams, and MP Kate Kniveton have all been accommodating and helpful in arranging partnership meetings at our request, it seems that things start to come apart when the demand for action spreads among some of the pertinent organisations.
“We believe that the authorities need to embrace the expertise, support, experience, and guidance of regional non-profit organisations that are best positioned to help with awareness and focused interventions surrounding knife crime.”