The parents of a 21-year-old filmmaking student who was stabbed to death in a London park have spoken of how their 'life has changed forever' as they mourn their son. Finbar Sullivan was killed during a fight at Primrose Hill in the early evening of April 7, after visiting the area to test a new camera he received for his birthday.
Hundreds gathered at a vigil in the park last night to remember Finbar, known as Fin to his friends, who was a student at the London Screen Academy. Madness frontman Graham 'Suggs' McPherson performed at the event, and Finbar's mother, Leah Seresin, shared her grief with BBC Breakfast.
'I wake up every morning and the mornings are the worst, because for that moment it's not happened. My life has changed forever, but it's not gone because if I did that he'd be so disappointed. I don't want hate coming from this,' she said. Finbar's father, Chris Sullivan, added: 'The main thing about it is the complete inability to accept the situation. Even though I'm a rational person, I just can't believe it, I can't understand it. I've had a mad life anyway, but this.'
Mr Sullivan, a club promoter best known for founding the Wag Club in London, revealed that Finbar used to post videos about trainers from the age of ten under the 'Finster channel', before deleting it when he was older 'because he was so embarrassed'. He added that his son loved movies, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, cameraman Michael Seresin, who worked on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Rambo III.
'He was always obsessed with watching films, that's all we did. I'm a film journalist... Leah's grandfather's very well known, he's a cinematographer. But that didn't have much bearing on Finbar because he would have done what he liked anyway,' Mr Sullivan said. He noted that his son had just worked with Vivienne Westwood's son Joe Corre on a film.
During yesterday's vigil at the viewing point on Primrose Hill, Suggs sang 'It Must Be Love' as balloons were released in memory of Finbar. Famous faces turned out alongside friends and family, including musician Paul Weller, Dexys Midnight Runners frontman Kevin Rowland, Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, and Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock. Dozens of candles and bunches of flowers were placed at the park gates, along with pictures of Finbar. Some of his favourite songs were sung and a minute's silence was held.
Speaking after the vigil, Mr Sullivan said: 'This is subsequent to my son being stabbed very near this spot to death... on the 7th April. We decided to have a little tribute to him and get all these people together.' He added: 'I'm so impressed to see the diaspora of people, ages, races, colours and creeds, and they did us proud. So I think Finbar's legacy should be that, unity and love and peace.' He expressed no surprise at the turnout, calling his son 'like a magnet for people'.
Mr Sullivan described Finbar as 'full of jokes' and a 'really loving person', adding: 'He was all I ever thought about. So it's like as if you have both your legs cut off, you know, you always remember they're gone, and you never forget them, but it will always be difficult to deal with. I'm not expecting an easy journey.'
Three men have been charged with his murder: Ernest Boateng, 25, Alexis Bidace, 25, and Oliuwadamilola Ogunyankinnu, 27. A fourth man, Khalid Abdulqadir, 18, has been separately charged in relation to the same incident, with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a second alleged victim, violent disorder, and possession of a knife.
