Kennedi Westcar was 25 years old — five weeks short of her 26th birthday — when she was killed by her partner of nine years on April 5th, 2024, in Hackney, East London. She was a mother. A daughter. A beacon of light in every room she walked into. She worked for Marie Curie. She chose her mum to take to a TV show over all her friends. She wanted to leave the relationship. And that is when the danger escalated.

In this deeply moving episode, Laura sits down with Kennedi's mother Linda Westcar — who is now raising Kennedi's young child — to discuss what happened, what the family were put through by the justice system, and what must change.

Kennedi's killer was not convicted of murder. There was no trial. Six months after the killing, two psychiatrists assessed him and an early guilty plea was accepted by the CPS on the basis of undiagnosed schizophrenia and diminished responsibility. The family were told at the last minute — with no time to challenge, no time to process. He was given a hospital order. No penal element. No punishment. And just five months after sentencing, mental health clinicians were already considering an application for escorted leave.

In this interview Laura and Linda cover:

- The red flags Linda witnessed in the months before Kennedi's death — passwords, accusations of infidelity, barricading Kennedi and her toddler in a room
- The written notes retrieved by police in which he had written that he wanted to kill both Kennedi and her mother
- Laura unravels and identifies coercive and controlling behaviours
- How Kennedi was badgered into getting into the car that night — and never came home
- The tracker Linda had placed in the car — and the moment the movement stopped
- Why Linda believes his behaviour in the hours after Kennedi's death showed clarity of mind — driving to a shop, fist-bumping a friend, sending a message from Kennedi's phone pretending she was still alive
- How the family were blindsided three times — by the plea deal, by the hospital order, and by the last-minute redaction of their victim personal statements
- Why Linda believes a hybrid order should have been considered — and why hospital orders must have a minimum set term
- Why the Victim's Right to Review process is fundamentally flawed — and why the CPS cannot be allowed to mark their own homework
- What Linda is now campaigning for — and how you can follow her work and support Kennedi's legacy

Kennedi's killer said the words himself: "I murdered Kennedi." Her family deserve better than what the system gave them.

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