Pain won’t stop, says mother of murder victim

Christine Holdsworth says her son Simon’s family, including his fiancée and four-year-old step son, are “really suffering” after the 36-year-old was killed in Sheffield on December 16.

Mr Holdsworth, who was working extra hours to save money for his wedding, was discovered with fatal head injuries the following morning in land off Birley Spa Lane in Hackenthorpe.

A new appeal was issued by South Yorkshire Police on BBC1’s Crimewatch on Wednesday night, including a reconstruction of Mr Holdsworth’s last movements and CCTV footage of a car seen nearby at the time that could be linked to the murder.

After consulting with CCTV experts, detectives now believe the vehicle seen parking near the playing fields where the victim was walking home was a dark coloured hatchback consistent with a Ford Escort Mark 6 or 7 or a Vauxhall Astra Mark 4.

Mrs Holdsworth told The Yorkshire Post that she was hopeful the latest appeal would lead to a breakthrough. She said she had been regularly “reliving what happened that night and picturing what happened to Simon”.

She said: “It is a permanent torment. To think, what did he feel like, was it instant, all sorts of things. You lie in bed at night and you jump.

“This picture won’t go away, it is on my mind all the time. I can’t believe it has happened, to think it has happened is unbearable.”

Speaking of Mr Holdsworth’s step-son Tiarnan, who turned four a few days after his death, she said: “He feels sad and needs a hug, he is missing his dad. He was in floods of tears the other day, missing his dad.

“He took a photograph of his dad to bed the other night. His little nieces as well keep asking about their uncle Simon.”

She added: “Simon knew such a lot of people. I can’t imagine anybody wanting to hurt him, certainly someone who knew him for who and what he was, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt him.

Police say they want to speak to the driver of the car seen pulling up near the playing fields shortly before Mr Holdsworth was attacked. He caught the bus home just after 11pm on December 16 after finishing work at FBS Prestige in Intake.

CCTV shown on Crimewatch shows a car travelling along Birley Spa Lane and turning right onto Delves Road. It appears to drive around the central grass area, then back onto Delves Road where it pulls up. The headlights are turned off just after 11pm.

Shortly afterwards, a person is seen entering the field, before another figure, thought to be the victim based on the time he was due to be heading home, is seen.

About a minute later a grainy figure is seen leaving the field and shortly after that the headlights of the car are turned back on and the car is seen to drive along Delves Road and turn right back onto Birley Spa Lane.

Mrs Holdsworth, who was shown the reconstruction footage before it was aired on Crimewatch, said: “If anyone watched it they would have realised how terribly brutal and horrendous the murder was. Whoever did it, they have done it once, they will be able to do it again.

“Anyone who knows anything must come forward because it should not have happened in the first place, don’t allow it to happen again to someone else, don’t have it on your conscience.”

Police were yesterday continuing to follow up on calls received after Crimewatch was aired on Wednesday.

Witnesses should call South Yorkshire Police 101, quoting incident number 149 of 17 December 2013. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.