A man was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of Stuart Everett’s murder earlier today and following the sentencing today, Stuart’s family have paid tribute to him.
They said: “Even though it has been almost 12 months, we are still haunted by Benny’s death which has been made even more difficult knowing the lengths that had gone into orchestrating my brother’s end.
“Benny is our family nickname for our endearing and loving Stuart.
“A couple of months ago we spent our first Christmas without him, this should have been a happy and joyous period for our family, but it was tainted, and our Christmas Dinner was not the same as we were missing the central piece of our family.
“I keep looking back at the birthday card that I received last April, this is made even harder for our family to look at as we now know it was sent from a devious individual who wanted to make it seem like our Benny was still alive to cover his own sadistic actions.
“Benny was the closest to our parents, and he was the keeper of our family photos, documents and memories. Our parents were our heroes who suffered unimaginable pain a concentration camp during World War Two, they then moved to the UK and these records and images of our family history are now lost and so thoughtlessly disposed of.
“We would like to acknowledge the work of Greater Manchester Police, and we know that officers and staff across the force have put in exceptional effort, and some even coming in on their rest days to help find my brother to bring home to us, find out what happened to him to ultimately find his killer.
“We will always miss him, I tap his urn each morning without fail to say good morning to him and I cherish that we have at least some parts of him that was brought to us to remember him. He is with us and will always be with us in spirit.
“The past 12 months have been some of the most challenging our family has ever had to endure but this has been made just that little bit easier for us due to the outpouring of love and affection people across Greater Manchester and beyond who have all come together for a truly unique and special human being.
“What happened to Stuart will haunt us for the rest of our lives and it is truly difficult to put into words how much he meant to us, and how much we will all miss him.
“I’d like to finish Benny’s tribute from our family by sharing what was inscribed on his urn – “Those we love don’t go away, they walk with us everyday. Unseen, unheard but always near. Still loved, still missed and very dear.”
