21/07/2026
I never imagined I would be writing something like this.
Our beautiful Ethan, was cruelly taken from us on 21 August. We were told we had to wait before we could lay him to rest because the investigation required time to complete the necessary examinations.
After nearly three years of unimaginable heartbreak, we were finally able to bury him in May 2024, believing that he had finally been laid to rest with dignity.
The people responsible for Ethan's death have now been convicted and sentenced. We truly believed that, although the pain would never leave us, that chapter of our lives had finally come to an end.
Then, last week, everything changed.
We received a visit from our family liaison officer, who informed us that Ethan's remains had now been collected and were all at Alder Hey Hospital.
We were completely shocked and confused. We had always been told that everything had been returned to Ethan before he was buried. We believed he had been laid to rest whole.
Instead, we were told that Ethan's eyes, heart, brain, liver, spine, spleen and bowel had been retained and returned to the hospital, and that they have only now been authorised for release.
To say we are devastated is an understatement. After everything we have already endured, we are now facing yet another unimaginable trauma. We have had to relive the grief of losing Ethan all over again. No family should ever have to experience this.
We are left with so many questions, and with a profound sense that we have been failed. We believed Ethan was finally resting in peace. Learning this truth years later has reopened wounds that had barely begun to heal.
Our only wish now is for Ethan to finally be laid to rest completely, with the dignity, love and respect he has always deserved.
We are now having to arrange another funeral for Ethan’s remains so he can finally and completely be laid to rest. 🙏 💔 😭
