Families of Brixton Academy crush victims say “all we want is justice”

The families of the Brixton Academy crush victims have spoken out six months since the tragedy, saying that “all we want is justice”.

Rebecca Ikumelo, aged 33 and Gaby Hutchinson, 23 died after people forced their way in an Asake show on December 15, 2022 leading to overcrowding and the gig being cancelled half way through.

A third attendee, a 21-year-old woman, remains in hospital in a serious condition.

“She was stunning, so, so beautiful,” Rebecca’s aunt, Mary Ikumelo, told BBC. “Such a beautiful individual, not only on the outside but also inside.”

“Rebecca was a bubbly person,” her mother Yetunde Olodo added. “She was very outgoing, caring, loving. She was an amazing mother.”

Rebecca was a nursing graduate and mother to two children, aged seven and five. “She’s got two young kids, they’re missing their mom,” added Yetunde.

“They don’t really know what actually happened to their mom. We really want justice.”

Gaby Hutchinson, who was a security dog-handler, would “make a really big impression on you, hopefully a good one”, her mother Christine told BBC.

“My heart feels like it’s broken. It’s never going to mend again. I wish it had been me rather than her because she had a life to live and at least I’ve lived 60 years.”

Gaby’s sister Nina, 32, described her sibling as “a great soul”, adding: “She had a lot of passion in there. She was a real laugh. She was just so loving and caring.”

“We’re angry that there are things that haven’t gone right that has led to people dying or being seriously injured and we just want those people to have justice,” Nina added.

“We want to know how it happened, we want to know why it happened,” added Mary, “and then we just want to know how are we moving forward going to prevent this from happening to somebody else’s daughter, mum, sister, niece.

“All we want is justice, for people to come forward and help us. Whatever they know, they should come and tell the police.

“It’s really, really important for all of us as a community to stand together and to just make sure that this type of thing doesn’t happen again.”

The Metropolitan Police claimed to have “lost confidence” in the safety of Brixton Academy and made a push for the location to close its doors for good.

An online petition was launched to counteract the closure while various artists and industry professionals also spoke out against the potential shutting down of the venue.

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) then launched a campaign alongside Save Our Scene and Brixton BID to keep the venue open.

The Prodigy were among high profile acts to share their support for save Brixton Academy campaign, urging the public to do the same.

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