Libby Squire mum calls for law to stop sex offenders after Sarah Everard murder

The mum of murdered student Libby Squire has demanded action for a new law to stop sexual predators from escalating their crimes.

She also reached out to family of Sarah Everard after killer cop Wayne Couzens admitted to her kidnap, rape and murder.

Lisa Squire, the 51-year-old mother of Libby, feared nothing has been learned since her daughter was raped and killed in 2019 by Pawel Relowicz before being dumped in a river in Hull.

The mum said that she was heartbroken when she discovered similarities in the two cases, as both men had been linked to prior minor sexual offences.

Couzens was linked to sex crimes before targeting marketing manager Ms Everard, 33.

Her death sparked protests over crimes against women – and fresh demands for their safety.

Lisa urged Ms Everard’s family “not to let her killer take any more of their life away from them”.

She is calling for a change in the law in a bid to stop sex offenders escalating their crimes.

Speaking to the Mirror, she said: “I remember hearing about Sarah’s death and thinking we have learned nothing from Libby’s murder.

“If I had a message for Sarah’s family it would be to remember her and don’t give her killer power by thinking about him.”

North Hull MP Diana Johnson and Lisa’s local MP Steve Baker back her call for new laws to ensure early intervention in non-contact sex offences.

Lisa added: “Men don’t wake up one morning thinking ‘I’m going to rape or kill today’. It starts off with flashing, voyeurism, following women.

“If there’s no intervention for lesser offences they think they can get away with it and up the ante. There’s an idea men who flash are just dirty old men. But Libby’s killer was a young man, Sarah’s was a police officer.”

And she urged women to report non-contact offences saying: “Remember Libby and Sarah and tell the police. If we can save one woman, Libby’s death will not be in vain.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct, the force’s watchdog, is probing claims Kent Police failed to investigate an incident of indecent exposure by porn addict cop Couzens in 2015, as well as allegations the Met Police failed to probe two claims of flashing days before Sarah’s murder.

Lisa, meanwhile, today tells of seeing her daughter’s body after she was retrieved from the Humber Estuary 48 days after disappearing.

Libby and her mum were so close that when the philosophy student hurt her thumb at Hull University, Lisa felt the same pain 200 miles away.

“When Libby died it felt like the left side of my body wasn’t there,” said Lisa. “We had an almost spiritual bond. When she went missing I knew she was dead, but I’d always known she wouldn’t be with us for ever.

In January 2019 she was refused entry to The Welly nightclub in Hull, for being too drunk.

Pals put her in a taxi, but for some reason after being dropped off she wandered the streets, refusing help from concerned strangers.

By the time perverted Relowicz came upon her, hypothermia had set in. He bundled her into his car, before he raped and killed her.

After finding Libby’s body, police discovered Relowicz’s DNA. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.

Lisa says: “My clever girl, she held on to that DNA for weeks. Maybe Libby’s purpose on this Earth was to hold on to that DNA and put that bad man behind bars so he couldn’t hurt more women.”