Lisa Skidmore murder: Killer can 'rot in hell' say family of victim
‘May he rot in hell’. The angry words of the mother of a devoted nurse who was raped and murdered in her own home.
Margaret Skidmore, who was herself attacked and left for dead by Leroy Campbell – the killer of her daughter Lisa Skidmore – said: “Our family has suffered a tremendous loss because of an evil scumbag like him.”
The brave 80-year-old grandmother, along with Lisa’s brother and sisters, have now vowed to stop at nothing to get answers to questions that still haunt them about the months that led up to the 37-year-old’s brutal death in Mill Croft Bilston last November.
They also revealed they have launched a £10,000 fund to send youngsters to Disneyland in memory of the Disney-mad district nurse who ‘adored children’.
Campbell, 56, warned a probation officer six weeks before he killed her that he felt like raping someone.
Police subsequently visited him several times but were reassured when he told them the feelings had passed.
But Mrs Skidmore said: “The probation service and MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements) are a waste of space. Time after time they get it wrong and never learn from their mistakes. I hope the person he told he wanted to rape again sleeps at night - because I can’t.
“And why didn’t Wolverhampton Police do anything? It seems everybody was turning a blind eye to a lot of things.”
Lisa’s siblings have enlisted the help of Government minister Gavin Williamson in their bid to unravel how her killer, already a convicted rapist with a history of attacking women in their homes, was allowed the freedom to do it again.
Her sister Alison Parker, of Finchfield, said: “When we found out he’d been released from a life sentence after a similar attack we were appalled.
“The police gave us his name and said it was up to us if we wanted to research his background. We were devastated because we felt Lisa’s death could have been prevented if people had done their jobs better.
“The judge who jailed him for life previously called him ‘a danger to womenfolk’ and said he hadn’t learned any lessons from his previous sentences.
“How can he have been allowed out again to roam free to do it again? At the very least he should have been tagged or under curfew.” The retired clinical nurse specialist who was based at New Cross Hospital said: “If I didn’t do my job properly, people could have died. People in positions of responsibility have to be held accountable.”
Twelve days ago at Birmingham Crown Court Campbell was handed a whole life sentence by Judge Mark Wall for his ‘grotesque’ deeds, which included attempting to murder Mrs Margaret Skidmore and arson.
It was not until that day that Mrs Skidmore learned the full horror of Campbell’s past deeds.
The details had been kept from her as she would have been a chief witness in the trial had Campbell pleaded not guilty.
She was ushered into a room at the crown court an hour before the sentencing to be told of his record. She said: “We will never get over this.The light has gone from our lives. I didn’t know that morning what pain the day would bring – that pain never goes away. I lost a daughter, my friend and carer.
“I hope he never shuts his eyes again, the evil scumbag. Let her family take care of him and the world would be a better place for it – may he rot in hell.”
She added: “He still has a life, three meals and a bed at the taxpayers’ expense.Someone has to pay for Lisa’s death as it could have been avoided.”
Lisa Skidmore had visited Disneyland several times and had a collection of more than 300 figurines and other related memorabilia, revealed her family, who have launched a crowd-funding appeal, Magic Moments, to send youngsters from Bilston to the Paris theme park. It has already raised £1,500.
Mrs Parker, 57, said: “She adored children and was a natural caring and loving person. Her life was brutally cut short but we’re hoping to honour Lisa’s memory by combining three things that she loved: children, making people happy and Disney.
“Lisa can’t go anymore but we hope other children, who might not otherwise get the chance to have a holiday like this, can enjoy the magic that Lisa so loved.”
Friends have rallied round making homemade candles and pieces of jewellery that will be sold through the Magic Moments page towards the appeal.
Mrs Parker said: “From the horror of what happened to Lisa, her family are hoping to make some children’s dreams come true.”
Among Lisa’s Disney paraphernalia were porcelain models dating back to the 1930s which she kept in a glass cabinet at her Mill Croft home.
