Taylor Black, 18, was stabbed 64 times by his “monster” former pal Nathan Costello five years ago today and the victim’s mum has now opened up about a second heartache she suffered
A heartbroken mother is commemorating the fifth anniversary of her son’s brutal murder. University student Taylor Black was just 18 when he failed return home from a birthday party having been stabbed 64 times, including 40 blows to his head.
His devastated mum, Lindsey Allison, was forever changed by the tragedy, but further heartache was yet to come during her son’s murder trial. The “beast” who mercilessly “slaughtered” her son on February 17, 2020, was his former friend, Nathan Costello, who Taylor had known from martial arts training.
Despite admitting to the crime in text messages, Costello cowardly pleaded not guilty and claimed he couldn’t recall stabbing Taylor repeatedly in the chest and head. During the trial, Lindsey suffered another unimaginable loss when she discovered her brother Niki had taken his own life in her shed after reading about the distressing court case details online, which he had previously been unaware of.
Lindsey said: “My son’s killer took two lives when he decided to butcher my son. He took the life of my brother too.”After burying her eldest son, she then had to do the same for her brother, and she said she had no idea what she ever did to deserve such misery.
Now, in an emotional interview with the Mirror on the fifth anniversary of her son Taylor’s death, Lindsey shared: “It is hard to believe it has been five years since Taylor was so cruelly taken from our lives and while it feels like yesterday it also feels like a lifetime without him.
“The only thing that helps me cope is my other little boy, Shae. Everyday is a struggle for me but when I look at his innocent little face and knowing that he relies on me, it gives me the strength to carry on.
“He makes me so proud and while he has his own struggles daily he still always manages to smile and he is still so young and deserves a happy childhood just like his big brother had so I will continue trying to be the best mum that I can be to him.”
Lindsey went on to describe the devastating impact Costello’s actions have had on her family, after he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. She revealed that Shae suffers from severe separation anxiety, needing constant reassurance due to fear of losing her, while her mother has been diagnosed with PTSD, haunted by the loss of her grandson.
Lindsey also spoke of her brother Niki’s tragic response to the grief, saying: “And the year after Taylor was murdered, just before the guilty verdict, my little brother Niki sadly decided that the pain of losing Taylor was just too hard to live with and sadly he took his own life in the shed at my home.
“The devastating heartbreak has taken its toll on all of our lives and I am no longer the carefree person I was before and I doubt I will ever be that person again.
“I just have to learn to live with our new normal, a life without my beautiful son and while I grieve for the void Taylor has left in our lives I also grieve the future that he will never have.
“I know he would have succeeded in everything he would have done and my only hope is one day, when my time is up, his face will be the first one I see because I know he will be there to greet his mum and show me around his home in the sky.”
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