The sister of murdered five-year-old April Jones has spoken of her ongoing terror for the safety of her own children, 13 years after the tragedy. Hazel Jones, now 31, was 18 and heavily pregnant when April was abducted while playing on her bike in Machynlleth, Wales, in October 2012. April's body has never been found; her killer, Mark Bridger, was convicted and jailed for life.
Hazel, who shares a father with April, described the moment she learned her half-sister was missing: 'I was at my own home in Aberaeron with my mother and my mum came up to me and says April's missing. And I was just like what? And she says it again, 'Hazel, April's missing'. And it just took a couple of seconds that felt like bloody minutes to actually process what the hell she was saying.'
She said the trauma has shaped her life and cast a shadow over her children, including daughter Amelia, now 13. 'I don't know how I'm meant to let her grow up. Because I am quite scared of who is even around, who can you actually trust? Is there anyone watching you? Is there anyone following you? And it's scary. The world we live in is literally so scary.'
Hazel gave birth to Amelia just weeks after April's disappearance. She recalled that her father and stepmother were shocked because the newborn resembled April. 'It was so difficult because I had just lost my sister and just given birth. I was trying to mourn my sister but also love my new daughter.'
Now a mother of three, Hazel said the anxiety has never fully gone away. She keeps a box of memories and newspaper clippings about April, and is honest with her children about what happened. 'I do want my daughter to see the world and have everything that April couldn't,' she said.
