{"id":304606,"date":"2025-07-30T18:49:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304606\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T18:49:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:49:15","slug":"crowds-gather-to-remember-teen-murdered-at-house-party-as-he-slept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304606\/","title":{"rendered":"Crowds gather to remember teen murdered at house party as he slept"},"content":{"rendered":"

The crowds were given daisies to remember Michael and his favourite flower<\/p>\n

19:22, 30 Jul 2025Updated 19:22, 30 Jul 2025<\/p>\n

The crowds were given daisies to remember Michael and his favourite flower(Image: Colin Lane\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

Crowds gathered this evening to remember a teenager who was murdered at a house party. Michael Causer was an aspiring hairdresser from Whiston<\/a> who died after being attacked in his sleep in 2008.<\/p>\n

Seventeen years on, his family, friends, and members of the LGBTQ+ community<\/a> came together tonight, Wednesday, July 30, to honour his legacy. At The Courtyard at Court Hey Park, moments of reflection and contributions from a range of multi-agency and key partner representatives were delivered.<\/p>\n

The evening was compered by Ruby O\u2019Brien, Knowsley Youth Parliament member, with a focus on young people and Michael\u2019s legacy. Photos of Michael were on display and surrounded by electric candles and daisies, his favourite flower. Attendees also received daisy-like flowers on entrance.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old, was beaten to death at a house party<\/a> in Biglands Road, Huyton<\/a>. At the time, prosecutors claimed homophobic insults were hurled at Michael during the attack. One man, James O\u2019Connor<\/a>, of The Brow, Runcorn<\/a>, who was then 20, was handed a life sentence for Michael’s killing in 2009, although a judge said the murder was not motivated by homophobia.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Causer was a trainee hairdresser(Image: One Knowsley)<\/p>\n

Openly gay Michael was punched and kicked while he slept before his bleeding body was carried outside and dumped in the street. The teenager was repeatedly hit with a hardback book thrown at his head during the fatal assault and as a result, suffered numerous facial fractures and swelling to the brain.<\/p>\n

He had emergency brain surgery but died in hospital more than a week later. His funeral took place a week before his 19th birthday. The next month, trainee policeman James Parkes, then 22, was set upon by up to 20 teenage boys in an anti-LGBT attack in the city\u2019s Pride Quarter<\/a>. At the time, he was hospitalised with a fractured skull.<\/p>\n

As it stood, Liverpool did not have a Pride festival despite being England’s sixth most populous metropolitan area. However, after Michael\u2019s death and the attack on James, a vigil was held on Stanley Street, and the Liverpool LGBT Network was set up by the City Council.<\/p>\n

Parents Marie and Michael with his sister Debbie and Nan Hilda(Image: Colin Lane\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

Since then, the city\u2019s Pride celebrations have grown in strength, with solidarity and record-breaking numbers. Pride has been expanded to elsewhere in the region, including Birkenhead<\/a>, St Helens<\/a>, and, in recent years, Knowsley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following his murder, the Michael Causer Foundation was set up. Established by Michael\u2019s parent\u2019s Marie and Mike, and Merseyside\u2019s LGBTQIA+ community, the foundation’s aim is to provide education, motivation, and accommodation for young people.<\/p>\n

One Knowsley<\/a>, the infrastructure body for the third sector in Knowsley, took over the running of the Michael Causer Foundation back in 2023. Rachael Jones, CEO of One Knowsley: “This year marks the 17th Vigil in memory of Michael Causer – a young man whose life was taken far too soon, but whose memory continues to inspire change.<\/p>\n

Michael Causer vigil at Court Hey Park, Huyton(Image: Colin Lane\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

“The vigil is a powerful reminder of our ongoing commitment to motivate change, educate others, and accommodate every young LGBTQI+ person by creating safer, more inclusive spaces throughout Knowsley and beyond.<\/p>\n

“Michael’s vigil is a powerful act of community \u2013 of coming together to remember Michael, stand with his family, and loved ones, and reaffirm our collective commitment to inclusion, understanding, and zero tolerance for hate. The Courtyard at Court Hey Park was once again a place of reflection and solidarity.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The crowds were given daisies to remember Michael and his favourite flower 19:22, 30 Jul 2025Updated 19:22, 30…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,188,393,4884,458,14721,179,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-304606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-crime","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-knowsley","13":"tag-lgbtqia","14":"tag-liverpool","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114943686445380458","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}