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ITN
Mother's tribute to 'beautiful' Jimmy
Mother's tribute to 'beautiful' Jimmy
The mother of murdered teenager Jimmy Mizen has paid tribute to her "beautiful son" at his funeral in southeast London.Margaret Mizen, 55, held back tears as she remembered her "gentle giant" and told hundreds of mourners at the service held at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Lee: "I never told him off. Apart from saying put your socks in the dirty washing basket."I can't believe we are here now. He really was a beautiful son."Her husband Barry, 56, told the congregation that the 16-year-old was "a lovely boy" who had his mother's smile.He said: "I have some really good memories and I will keep them always. I think with Jimmy I don't have any regrets about what we spoke about or about saying anything to Jimmy. Maybe for longer, but I don't regret ... he was a lovely boy."He added: "There has been a lot of talk about Jimmy's smile and I know where he got it from. The first thing that attracted me to Margaret was her beautiful smile."Jimmy's six brothers each made a personal tribute to him during the service.His five older brothers Danny, 30, Billy, 28, Tommy, 26, Bobby, 24, Harry, 18, and nephew James, 19, acted as pallbearers while his younger brother George, eight, carried a picture of Jimmy in his football kit as the family walked behind the hearse to the church.Family members embraced as the procession passed the Three Cooks bakery where Jimmy was stabbed in the neck in a vicious assault last month.His sister Samantha, 21, who has Down's syndrome, laid a bouquet of flowers at the scene.The 6ft 4in teenager was brutally attacked on May 10, the day after his 16th birthday, after going to buy a lottery ticket with Harry. Jake Fahri, 19, is charged with his murder.The funeral was delayed to allow his school friends to finish their GCSE exams.The order of service carried a written tribute to the family's "shining star".It read: "On the ninth of May from heaven above Barry and Margaret were blessed with love. God sent them Jimmy with a mission in mind to show the world love and leave all the anger behind. With a smile so special, so gentle, so kind, an angel of immaculate character beautiful inside."It went on: "Jimmy taught us all to let anger and hate go, look deep in your heart and the love will flow. Now look up at heaven, at the sky at night, you will see a star shining ever so bright, that is Jimmy... our gentle giant."The service included music from the film Schindler's List and readings from the Gospel.
ITN | June 20, 2008
