Thanet Extra
LOSS: Partner's struggle after death of an ‘amazing bloke’
For me, the pain
will never go away
will never go away
Family’s Anger
EVERY week, fresh flowers are tied to railings at Margate's Victoria traffic lights, a reminder of death amid the smog and noise at a busy crossroads.
They have become part of the daily scene for the drivers who grind slowly past each day, but for the family and friends of John Living, they are a tribute to a man they have loved and lost.
The 30 year-old motorcyclist died at the scene of the accident at the crossroads last October. Last week Czech driver Marek Tomi pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and was banned from driving for two years and given 200 hours community service.
But while Marek Tomi's ordeal is over, Mr Living's family and his partner, Stephanie Murphy, are left struggling to make sense of life without him.
The couple moved to Thanet from Plumstead, South London.
Stephanie and John were together for seven years and she still lives in the house they bought in Ramsgate together, still works in the office they shared, still has his pictures on the wall and his clothes still hang in the wardrobe.
Miss Murphy said: "He was the most amazing bloke. He would want to do anything for anyone. He would fix things, if anyone needed a lift anywhere, he was there.
"We lived in each other's pockets and worked in the same place
[Williams Lea]."
The accident happened in the early evening of October 23, 2005, when the couple were on their way home from a friend's house in Margate.
They have become part of the daily scene for the drivers who grind slowly past each day, but for the family and friends of John Living, they are a tribute to a man they have loved and lost.
The 30 year-
The couple moved to Thanet from Plumstead, South London.
Stephanie and John were together for seven years and she still lives in the house they bought in Ramsgate together, still works in the office they shared, still has his pictures on the wall and his clothes still hang in the wardrobe.
Miss Murphy said: "He was the most amazing bloke. He would want to do anything for anyone. He would fix things, if anyone needed a lift anywhere, he was there.
"We lived in each other's pockets and worked in the same place
[Williams Lea]."
The accident happened in the early evening of October 23, 2005, when the couple were on their way home from a friend's house in Margate.
John Living, pictured with hispartner Stephanie Murphy
Miss Murphy had ridden on ahead, and when Mr Living did not arrive as expected, she knew instinctively that something bad had happened.
As well as the enormous hole his death has left in her life, Miss
Murphy is struggling to come to terms with her loss and to cope with the more prosaic aspects of bereavement.
She said: "Despite being together for seven years, I wasn't allowed to see him after the accident.
"It’s a joint house but the life
insurance won't pay out as he didn't make it to the hospital.
"I’ve just had his mobile phone disconnected and they still say they want £300 off me."
John may be gone, but along with the pictures on the wall, Mr Living lives on in a locket round his
partner's neck, the boxes and boxes of shirts he left behind, ("He used to take hours to get ready") and the flowers by the roadside.
Miss Murphy lowers her eyes and says: "They are going to be there as long as I have got breath in me."
Murphy is struggling to come to terms with her loss and to cope with the more prosaic aspects of bereavement.
She said: "Despite being together for seven years, I wasn't allowed to see him after the accident.
"It’s a joint house but the life
insurance won't pay out as he didn't make it to the hospital.
"I’ve just had his mobile phone disconnected and they still say they want £300 off me."
John may be gone, but along with the pictures on the wall, Mr Living lives on in a locket round his
partner's neck, the boxes and boxes of shirts he left behind, ("He used to take hours to get ready") and the flowers by the roadside.
Miss Murphy lowers her eyes and says: "They are going to be there as long as I have got breath in me."
Marek Tomi, the motorist involved in the accident which killed John Living was charged with driving without due care and attention, driving with no insurance and without a licence.
He pleaded guilty last Tuesday and was ordered to do 200 hours community punishment, to be completed within a year. He was also banned from driving for two years and fined £100 with £43 costs.
Miss Murphy and Mr Living's family are angry at the charges, believing they undermine the significance of his death.
Miss Murphy said: "I was disgusted when I heard about the charge.
"That split second decision brought my partner's death.
"There's not words to describe it. If I knew there would be some justice it wouldn't help in general, but I would know there would be some justice done."
He pleaded guilty last Tuesday and was ordered to do 200 hours community punishment, to be completed within a year. He was also banned from driving for two years and fined £100 with £43 costs.
Miss Murphy and Mr Living's family are angry at the charges, believing they undermine the significance of his death.
Miss Murphy said: "I was disgusted when I heard about the charge.
"That split second decision brought my partner's death.
"There's not words to describe it. If I knew there would be some justice it wouldn't help in general, but I would know there would be some justice done."
