The mother of murdered schoolboy Harvey Willgoose has had her favourite image of her dead son tattooed on her arm.
Mum-of-two Caroline Willgoose, 52, had the special 8cm tattoo inked onto her skin to honour her 15-year-old son, who was stabbed to death while at school. Harvey was murdered in front of horrified children and teachers at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield by Mohammed Umar Khan, 15, on February 3, 2025.
Khan was found guilty of murder at Sheffield Crown Court last October and detained for a minimum of 16 years.
Tattoo of a Halloween selfie
Caroline's tattoo - on her right arm and just below her wrist - is of her and Harvey posing for a selfie taken during Halloween in 2023. The mum, from Sheffield, revealed she chose to have the tattoo on her right arm so she can "hold it to her heart".
She said: "I chose this image as it is my favourite one. Harvey used to say it was his favourite too. We just look really close, which we were. You can just tell that he loved me, and I loved him. I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for some time as I felt like I needed something on me of Harvey."
Caroline, who said this was her first tattoo, revealed that Jordon Cherry from Eleven Eleven Tattoo Studio kindly reached out and offered to give her a tattoo for free.
Charity work and inquest
The mum said: "We just talked about Harvey and what he was like. The tattoo studio is not far from Harvey's school, and we talked about the day it happened. Afterwards, she told me she was really nervous as she wanted to do a great job and show off Harvey."
Jordan said that "being able to do something that honours Harvey" was a "real privilege." Caroline now runs a dedicated charity, Harvey's Hub, to support children alongside her role as a knife crime campaigner.
After almost a year of hard work, Caroline will be holding her first session at Sheffield Springs Academy on November 19.
This comes as Caroline recently alleged that she believes her son's killer has access to a device in prison and has been taunting her from his cell. Caroline said she had been receiving messages from anonymous accounts, and the messages are said to include phrases such as "3Umar" and "Free Umar". The Ministry of Justice has said it is investigating the allegations.
An inquest into Harvey's death, which was going to be stopped after Khan's conviction, will resume, it was revealed last month. The inquest was initially opened and adjourned at Sheffield Coroner's Court in February 2025 pending the conclusion of the criminal case. Senior coroner Tanyka Rawden decided not to resume the inquest but this has now been reversed and a full inquest into Harvey's death will be held.
Harvey's parents, Mark and Caroline, welcomed the decision and the mum said: "It's devastating to know there were warning signs and chances to step in before Harvey was killed. As his mum, I can't help thinking about what might have happened if someone had acted."
Caroline, speaking to the Mirror in May, said she felt "physically sick" when she found out his killer was so dangerous his own family even wanted him followed by police. The mum discovered this information in a private review commissioned by St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust. The review found there had been "several missed opportunities" to address behaviour and manage risk before the horror incident.
