A mother has spoken of how she has been unable to grieve for her murdered son - and how her fight to bring his killer to justice cannot stop.

Tracey Hanson’s only son, Josh, was at the RE bar in Eastcote on October 11, 2015, when he was stabbed in the neck in an unprovoked attack. He died at the scene.

Shane O’Brien, 29, was recently named on Europol’s most wanted list in connection with the murder of 21-year-old Josh from Kingsbury.

O’Brien was arrested in Prague in February 2017 for assault. He used an Italian alias, Enzo Mellonceli, and false documents and was bailed by police. He has not been seen since.

A recent photo of Shane O'Brien issued by Met police

Ealing Times:

A £50,000 reward has been offered by police for information about O’Brien’s whereabouts.

Josh’s mum, Tracey Hanson, 53, started an online campaign weeks after Josh’s murder.

“It’s the most tragic thing ever for your child to be murdered,” she said, “Most people cannot imagine.” 

She added: “As soon as I saw the wanted poster I thought, ‘we’ve got a face, there he is, let’s get it out there’”. 

Tracey received a call the night Josh died saying he had been stabbed. “I asked where and they said in Eastcote and I said no, where on his body?
“They said his neck and I just knew. I got out of bed and just howled like and animal.”

Tracey said until Josh’s killer is caught she cannot grieve for her son.

“While there is no justice I cannot grieve. No justice is not an option.” 

Tracey said her campaign and launching the Josh Hanson Charitable Trust has given her “a lot of hope” and that the response has been overwhelming. She has also been very proactive on knife crime. 

“People can help by displaying the poster,” she said “I’ve had responses from all over the world.”

She said she was contacted by a woman in Brisbane, Australia who was putting up the wanted poster when police asked her to stop. After explaining Josh’s murder they invited the woman to their headquarters to do an interview so they could share it on their blog.

Tracey said that the public engagement has been “so supportive” and that she even asked the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to put up posters on the London Underground. 

Tracey spoke of her hopes for justice and battle with despair.

“Every waking hour I think ‘maybe today is the day’,” she said, “Maybe it’ll happen soon.

“There have been times I can’t face the world and it’s just heartbreaking.

But I am driven by my faith, Josh is watching over me. He can’t stand up for himself now, that’s my job.”

Tracey practices crochet and reads to escape, but her mind is never far from Josh.

When asked if she had a message for Josh’s killer, she said: “Stop running and do the right thing for a young man, who if you had known him you would never have done it.”

Ealing Times:

Tracey thanked all the support she had received from her family and fundraisers and encouraged people to “come together” to combat knife crime. 

For more information go to joshhansoncharitabletrust@hotmail.com