Amie Gray’s widow describes how her loss will ‘haunt’ her forever

The wife of Amie Gray has described how her death would haunt her for the rest of her life.

In a victim impact statement read to Winchester Crown Court, Sian Gray said: “It’s hard to know where to begin; trying to find the words to describe the impact the loss of my wife and the mother of our daughter has had on us both.

“Since the 26th of May, our world has fallen from beneath our feet: I woke in the early hours of the morning, wondering where Amie was and why she wasn’t home.

“Minutes later, I heard the sound of a car door closing and thought it was Amie. I then opened the door to the police as they came to give me the news. The impact of these moments will haunt me forever.

“I have a fear of loss. Whenever I haven’t heard from anyone, I envisage the worst because of this.

“I like to think of myself as a strong person who will stand tall but I’m not the person I was before. I fight every day to keep my career on track and continue to be a role model for our daughter, who is now growing up without one of her parents.

“I have to watch her drama performances, attend her Army cadet’s remembrance parade and share her successes and disappointments, alone…the memories that should be shared.

“I fear in my own home and on the streets after being reminded what a cruel world we live in and how somebody can, so maliciously and pointlessly, take another person’s life.

“At the age of 36, I should not have to hold my deceased wife’s cold hand, nor should my daughter have to say goodbye and grieve over a coffin.

“Our tragedy has been a public display for all to see. In such a small town we have no privacy so cannot hide our grief. That has been taken away from us.

“Amie’s beautiful life has now been reduced to forever being remembered as ‘the Murder Victim’.”

Amie Gray’s mother Sharon Macklin said: “I can’t believe that I am writing this, Amie was an amazing, funny, kind and energetic soul.

“She had a big smile and a loud laugh and when she entered the room, it filled with laughter and her presence couldn’t be ignored.

“She was beautiful inside and out, even if life wasn’t great for her she would always find the time to help others.

“Since Amie was taken from us, it is like the lights have been dimmed and we cannot get the power to go back up.

“On the day of Amie’s funeral, there was a sea of blue, Amie’s favourite colour. It was amazing to see how many hearts Amie had touched in her life. I know as a family we have struggled to get our heads around this and her friends have too.

“Amie had just gone to go and live with her brother Ryan and his wife. Amie had been so positive about the future before she was cruelly taken away from us and was the happiest we had seen her in years.

“She had recently been made a head coach at Dorset Futsal, which she loved and she received an award for this which made her so proud.

“She had just started to plan a new work venture and on the day of her murder, had secured her first customers, which made her so excited.

“This has made it so much harder for us to deal with as a family, we have all struggled to come to terms with her death and most of all the horrendous way she died.

“Since Amie’s death, Ryan and his wife have found it impossible to use the room that Amie lived in at their house. My sons and I struggle to sleep and are all having to take medication for this.

“We are all attending counselling to help us, I struggled with day-to-day life. I hardly leave the house, as I feel safer at home and have been unable to go back to work since this happened. My emotions are all over the place and I am having to take medication to calm me down.”

Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, told the court that Leanne Miles did not provide a victim impact statement because she “didn’t wish the defendant to have any further knowledge of her life”.