The family of a mother who was shot dead in her Liverpool home have made a fresh appeal for information, exactly 20 years after her brutal murder. Lucy Hargreaves, 22, was asleep on the sofa when three men burst into her house in Walton and fatally shot her on 3 August 2005.
The killers then set fire to the home on Lambourne Road, where her partner and two-year-old daughter were upstairs. They had to escape through a window as flames engulfed the property.
Family releases new photograph
Two decades on, her family have released a previously unshared photograph of the mother-of-three, taken at college. They believe people who received calls from a stolen phone used in the murder could hold crucial information.
"Over the past 20 years, people will have talked with family and friends," the family said. "A number of people were contacted by males using a phone that was stolen, along with a vehicle used in Lucy's murder."
Police arrested 21 suspects
The family appealed directly to those who received the calls to come forward, saying: "Now is the time." Police arrested 21 people as part of their investigations, but no-one has been convicted.
A comprehensive review into her murder was launched by Merseyside Police two years ago and remains ongoing. Howard Rubbery, head of the serious case review unit, described the killing as taking place "in the most brutal of circumstances".
Callous actions endangered others
"After carrying out the killing, the offenders ignored the cries of a toddler upstairs as they poured petrol around the house and set fire to it," Rubbery said. Their actions could have claimed two more lives that night, had the victims not escaped by jumping from an upstairs window.
Police remain "as determined as ever" to get justice for Lucy, whose death robbed her family of a loving mother and daughter. Rubbery emphasised that time is no barrier to their pursuit of justice.
Family praises other victims
The family, who said they "miss her every single day", welcomed recent focus on tackling violence against women and girls. They praised the families of other gun crime victims, including the mothers of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt Korbel and Ashley Dale, 28, who were shot in Liverpool in August 2022.
"We greatly admire the determination and guts of the families of those who have more recently been killed as a result of gun crime here in Merseyside," they said. The family described themselves as "an ordinary local family with strong roots" in the Walton, Norris Green, Croxteth and Dovecot areas.
Strong family heritage
Lucy's grandmother Joyce was "a strong mother of eight who had to cope with the loss of three granddaughters in her lifetime". Her great-grandmother Betty was awarded the British Empire Medal for her nursing services at the Royal Liverpool Hospital after being widowed at 35 with six children.
"They were two strong local women typical of their generation, and Lucy too was a strong woman who could have achieved so much had she only been given the opportunity," the family said. Detectives continue to appeal for information about a gold Lexus car believed to have been dumped on Richard Kelly Drive, Clubmoor, shortly after the shooting.
Wanted man named
Police previously said they wanted to speak to Kevin Thomas Parle in connection with Hargreaves' murder. Parle, who was believed to be living abroad, was also wanted over the murder of Liam Kelly, 16, who was shot in Dingle, Liverpool, in June 2004.
Anyone with information should contact Merseyside Police via social media, their website, or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
