The mother of Anthony Walker is finally ready to speak to his killers.
Wednesday marks 20 years since the 18-year-old was killed with an ice pick after being cornered outside a Huyton park as part of a racially motivated attack.
In late 2005, Paul Taylor was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years and eight months while Michael Barton was sentenced to 17 years and eight months.
Taylor previously attempted to make contact with the second year A-level student’s mother Dr Gee Walker but she had no intention of meeting with him at that time.
However she is now prepared to hear what happened in her son’s final moments.
“I’m here if he wants to but my children and family are really against it,” Dr Walker told BBC North West Tonight.
“They actually say: ‘once a liar, they will always be a liar’. They say I might not get what I’m looking for – the truth.
“But to me, they [Taylor and Barton] were the last ones who’d seen my son alive, so I’d really like to ask them what happened, and why did you do it to my son?
“I still feel as if for me, as a mum, I would like to know.
“Maybe it would help me to find out where this hate came from – because it’s got to come from somewhere. So I was hoping I would get some answers.”
Dr Walker was awarded an MBE for services to diversity and racial injustice from her work with the Anthony Walker Foundation which was set up in his memory.
The organisation aims to tackle racism, hate crime and discrimination through educational opportunities and victim support services, while promoting equality and inclusion.
Dr Walker credits the outpouring of support her family received from their native city following Anthony’s murder to help them find the strength to honour his legacy.
She added: “I don’t know how to thank the people of Liverpool.
“Someone asked me the other day – ‘do you think the response to Anthony being killed would have been the same if it was anywhere else?’ and, without a breath, I said, ‘Liverpool people, they are a special breed’.
“I’m so thankful for the support that keeps us upright today.”