FOR three months, one story has dominated the headlines, with Preston Crown Court hearing every single detail about arguably the biggest and one of the most tragic murder cases Blackburn has ever seen.
It was an event that not only shook the whole town but the country too, and hit news channels throughout the world.
Aya had been walking to the supermarket during the holy month of Ramadan when her life was cruelly ended by a bullet fired from a Glock pistol held by a hitman who had been hired by one of the town’s most notable businessmen.
The decision to hire an assassin had been the result of a childish and needless feud between two businesses, with ringleader Feroz Suleman willingly making the decision to snatch another’s life away when he agreed to pay Zamir Raja the measly sum of £1,500 to carry out cold-blooded murder.
The fact that Aya wasn’t the intended target of that bullet was irrelevant to gang of seven men who had plotted and planned to kill another human being.
Aya Hachem’s family have lived through their worst nightmare over the last 15 months, and their grief won’t stop now that her murderers are to serve 216 years behind bars between them.
Over the last three months the court has heard in extensive detail about that fateful day, May 17 2020, with every minute of that afternoon pored over by barristers, defendants and jurors – with Aya’s family listening on to every word.
Fifty-seven working days have passed since the start of the trial, and I’ve been present for almost every single one of them.
During that time, hundreds of thousands of people have read our live blogs and daily reports with each individual reader proving to us exactly why we had made the decision to dedicate so much time and resource into this case.
Court rooms are quite often my workplace – such is the nature of being a court and crime reporter – but for the last three months I’ve either been physically or virtually inside the same four walls at Preston Crown Court, reporting on the same case day-in, day-out.
The level of coverage we have provided has been driven not only by the fact the coronavirus pandemic has meant some of Aya’s closest friends and family haven’t been able to watch proceedings in person, but by the duty we have to the people of Blackburn who were so invested in the case.
The trial has been challenging; both logistically and emotionally, that goes without saying.
My editors took a huge risk in me when the decision was made to sacrifice other areas of our coverage to concentrate on this case and this case alone.
I implore you to find another news outlet, local or national, that has recently covered every day of a three-month trial – or a three-week one for that matter. It simply isn’t the done thing anymore; we just don’t have the resources for that. For that reason the decision for us to commit to wholeheartedly covering the case was a huge one.
I’ve been privileged for many reasons over the last 57 days, not least of all because I have witnessed first-hand the incredible work of Lancashire Police and exactly how this complex and long-running investigation was put together.
The professionalism of every barrister involved and the way in which the CPS presented the case has been mind-blowing and truly captivating to watch.
I’ve met those closest to Aya, and watched as their world came tumbling down again and again as lies and deceit came from the mouths of those on the witness stand. I’ve become close to them, but more than anything I hope trusted by them.
Aya was never far from my thoughts as evidence continued to be dissected, the need for accuracy and sensible reporting which shows respect for legal procedure more important than ever in an era of click-bait and tit-for-tat journalism so often seen amongst competing news agencies.
We truly do understand the importance of good journalism and care about what matters to the people we write for, I promise. It may not always seem that way, but if what we have provided over the last three months doesn’t go some way to proving that, I’m not sure anything ever will.
The one thing I do know is that it must now be ensured that Aya’s memory lives on long beyond the sentences of those who shot down an innocent teenager in broad daylight.
And on a final note I’d like to thank everyone who has reached out to us and thanked us for our coverage throughout, it truly does mean more than I’m sure you’ll ever realise.
