'We wanted people to know Georgia': Poignant memoir by parents of murdered 17-year-old wins award

'Our Georgia' won the 'Impact for Change' award at the True Crime Awards last month.

The book is a true-life account of the brutal murder of Georgia and her family's tireless battle for justice against a sadistic killer and proven police incompetence.

Released by her parents, Lynnette and Steve, the book was put together with journalist Robin Eveleigh, and the support of their other daughter, Scarlett.

It was published last year, 10 years after Georgia's horrific murder sent shockwaves through Telford, leaving scars on the community forever.

Georgia was murdered by the sadistic killer, Jamie Reynolds, after being invited to his Wellington home on May 26, 2013.

She had been invited along with a number of friends but as soon as he knew Georgia was on her way he cancelled their invites.

Reynolds than strangled the A-level student before callously dumping her body in woodland.

He fled to Scotland where he was arrested, but initially denied the murder before changing his plea on the day of the trial.

He then put Georgia's family through fresh mental anguish when he appealed his life sentence – an appeal rejected by the courts.

While having to come to terms with the loss of their beloved daughter and Reynolds' horrific actions, the family then faced further agony as they learned of serious failings which could have stopped the killer.

It emerged that he had been known to police and other agencies for more than five years before the fatal attack, with concerns about his sexual behaviour and his mental health.

But they failed to act, and a case file on him was closed in 2010, three years before he strangled Georgia.

Speaking after the award was confirmed Lynnette said they were "amazed" and pleased that the book had been recognised, and hoped it would serve to further spread the memory of her beloved daughter, while giving other families facing tragedy the strength to challenge officials and get to the truth.

One of the judges who awarded the accolade said the book was a "real honour" to Georgia's memory, adding that it was "poignant, respectful, empathetic and moving".

He said: “The account told in this book left me feeling equally sad and angry. Sad for what Lynnette and Steve have been through, and angry because they shouldn't have been.

"They and Georgia were let down by the system that should be there to protect and support them.

"This felt so personal for me, as Steve and I have so much in common. We share a name, a career and a daughter born in 1995.

"I can't imagine having been through what they share in this book. Their bravery is amazing and the book is a real honour to Georgia's memory.

"By telling their story, I truly hope it prevents another family from having to endure the same.

"Told as this is from the point of view of Georgia's mother, it is poignant, respectful, empathetic and moving. It flows well, and benefits from strong storytelling and a handle of the material."

Lynnette said: "We should never have had to write the book but we wanted people to know about Georgia – more to see what sort of a young child she was and how she grew up, and how she was just in a normal family.

"We also wanted to show people and tell them that even though Steve was in the police it did not mean we were 'in the loop' all the time, and that things were in fact held back from us. We wanted people to know it was a hard fight for us to get to the truth and get the facts about what happened out there.

"There will be other people after us whose children are killed who will have to go through the same system we did and we just hope this story will help them."

She added: "We both felt so let down by the system. We just wanted people to know the police did their best to brush everything under the carpet but we were quite dogged and kept persisting and asking them the questions."

Lynnette said the book had also allowed them to tell Georgia's story on their own terms – as it happened, and as she was as a young woman.

She said: "Some papers had done whole stories about her and they were just not correct and even though you went back to them and said 'this is wrong', they would say they would 'put an apology in tomorrow', but it is in a little slot in the bottom corner saying 'we are sorry' – but all people will remember is the big story the day before, and that is very difficult for parents to take on board when they are already struggling with grief."

Lynnette said that it had been a "very, very painful" experience writing the book, which "brought everything back to the front again" but they had been heartened by the positive feedback from those who had read the story.

She said: "A lot of people have said they have literally cried, they have laughed at things about Georgia because she was a very funny girl, but then they have cried. We have been amazed at the response and we are just pleased it has been doing what we wanted it to do."

Lynnette added that they were indebted to their publisher Mardle Books who had helped share the story.