Sadness and silence: Community in mourning as West Park reopens after Viktorija Sokolova death
Walkers and families spoke of an ‘eerie silence’ as West Park reopened, a week after the death of teenager Viktorija Sokolova.
The sun may have been shining, but those in the park said their thoughts were very much with the 14-year-old.
The Wolverhampton park reopened to the public on Thursday afternoon, exactly a week after Viktorija was found dead.
Yesterday morning saw the first signs of early morning dog walkers, joggers and rambling groups, all trying their best to establish a normal routine at the park once more.
Margaret Jordan, age 73, has been coming to West Park for many years to walk her 13-year-old Jack Russell Shamrock.
The grandmother said: “I cried when I heard. It was just terrible. When I came here on the day it happened I thought it would never get back to the same as it was again.
“But I do feel safe walking here. I come nearly every day as I only live on Low Street. When it was closed I did miss it. It’s just a lovely park.”
The same morning it was announced West Midlands Police was being invested by the IOPC into Viktorija’s death after she had been reported missing to the force the night before her body was discovered.
Cards, teddy bears and flowers have been left on railings for Viktorija, who was known as Tori.
She had been a student at King’s School in the city up until December last year, and a signed school shirt and a soft toy were left on the gates.
Her headteacher at the school James Ludlow paid tribute to the ‘friendly’ and ‘outgoing’ student who always had a smile on her face.
Mr Ludlow said: “We are all devastated and deeply saddened by the tragic news about Viktorija.
"Viktorija was a friendly, out-going and extremely sociable girl who had many friends at school.
"She took an active part in school life, made the most of all the opportunities and always approached life in a positive way, with a smile on her face.”
Sisters-in-law Terina Smith-Round and Julie Round speed walk in West Park twice a week, to stay fit and catch up.
Both mothers themselves, they said the incident must have been unbearable for the young girl’s family. Julie, a 46-year-old foster carer from Codsall, said the park felt strangely silent on its first full day of being back open since the police locked the gates.
She said: “Normally there are mums and pushchairs, cyclists, big walking groups. But it feels very quiet. Perhaps people just don’t know it has reopened yet though.
“It’s a busy park and we’ve never seen anything wrong. It’s terrible to think about the family, you think your children are just going to be safe. I have two teenage sons and they often go out on their own. You never think they’re not going to come back.”
Terina, a 39-year-old stay at home mother from Perton, added: “It was a terrible thing to happen. To think she was just 14. It seems eerily quiet today.”
Viktorija’s body was discovered by a member of the public near the lake in West Park at about 7am on April 12, before police promptly shut all the gates to begin their investigation. The schoolgirl, who was born in Lithuania, was described as a ‘little angel’ by her devastated family.
Nalin Patel, aged 66, is the organiser of the Walking for Health group in West Park, which meets every day except Saturday for a scenic stroll. But he said the first day of the park-reopening had been quiet.
He said: “We usually have 20 walkers on a Friday but only had about six this time. It might be that they are unaware the park has reopened, I think that could be the reason. Or what happened here had obviously upset them.
“When I first heard I was shocked. We always meet by the shelter and quite often see people smoking or doing drugs there in the morning, but they never bother us. They’re not necessarily teenagers either, they are often older people.
“We are hoping the park gets back to normal soon.”
A 16-year-old accused of murdering and raping Viktorija will next appear in Wolverhampton Crown Court on June 8. He cannot be named for legal reasons.
Meanwhile an investigation has been launched into West Midlands Police's response to a missing person report linked to tragic teenager Viktorija.
