Three women whose sister was murdered by her partner have told of their "unimaginable pain" in harrowing victim statements.
The sisters of Tara Kershaw gave brave and moving testimonies after their beloved sibling was brutally murdered by Adam Barnard in her flat on Princes Road, Great Yarmouth, in January this year.
Tanita Salih
"Your Honor, I stand before you today to speak about the impact of my sister’s murder and to share the unbearable loss that her death has caused me and my family.
"Tara was not just my sister; she was my best friend, my confidant, and someone I shared some of the most important moments of my life with.
"From the birth of my children to the birth of hers, we were always there for each other. We shared dreams, laughter and an unbreakable bond.
"I can hardly comprehend the fact that I will never be able to share any future life moments with her.
"Her absence is a void that can never be filled.
"On January 20 2024, my life was shattered when I received the news that Tara had been found dead, to only later find out they are investigating her death as a possible murder.
"The moment I had to identify her body will haunt me forever.
"Seeing her like that is a memory that will never leave me, and the trauma is something I carry with me every single day.
"During this time all I could think about was wanting to hug and hold her tight. It's heart-breaking to know that was the last time and I would never get another chance.
"Having to go through all of this is unimaginable pain that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
"Tara was a loving mother, a dedicated sister, and a friend to so many.
"Although she had her problems she had recently told me prior to her death she was wanting to change and get a job, that she was ready to sort her life out.
"I know she had a bright future ahead of her, full of dreams and aspirations.
"But all of that was taken from her—and from us all—in a senseless act of violence.
"She will never get to see her children grow up, and they will never have the opportunity to feel her love and guidance as they navigate through life.
"That is something that deeply pains me as a mother, and I cannot imagine the heartbreak her children will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
"The man who took her life—who promised to love her, care for her, and never hurt her—has shown no remorse for what he’s done. He has not only taken Tara from us but has destroyed the sense of safety and trust we once had.
"His actions have caused a deep wound in our family, one that will never truly heal.
"There are no amounts of words that can describe the depth of my grief or the long-lasting impact this tragedy has had on me and everyone who loved Tara.
"Every day without her is a reminder of the cruelty of this crime, and I will never stop mourning the life she should have had, the future we should have shared.
"I will forever miss hearing her voice on the phone, whether it was her calling to see how me and the kids are or wishing me a happy birthday.
"Without fail every year she would make sure to either message or call on those special days and I am truly dreading those days now as I know there will always be something missing and never getting to hear her say, ‘Love you and the kids, give 'em a kiss from me,’ ever again.
"Tara was let down by many people towards the end of her life.
"From a young age we are told to trust in the professionals and that they are a safe place. But unfortunately no matter how many times Tara was crying out for their help, explaining how scared she was and that the person she loved was abusing her in horrific ways, she was labelled as a drinker and never believed by those she confided in.
"Tara sadly knew and expressed that Adam would one day kill her, which we know could have been hugely avoided had the professionals listened to her outcries and not judged her by her drinking - which she was clearly using towards the end as a coping remedy.
I ask the court to recognise the profound impact that Tara’s loss has had on my life, her children’s lives, and the lives of all who loved her.
"I hope that justice will be served and that this man will face the full weight of the law for the suffering he has caused.
"Thank you, Your Honour, for allowing me the opportunity to speak about my sister and the terrible impact her murder has had on my life."
Zoe Savva
"The 20th of January 2024, the day stood still.
"Being miles away from home, taking a phone call that would forever change my life, they THINK they have found my sister Tara dead.
"Holding on to that tiny glimmer of hope, making phone calls to local authorities to be met by a wall of silence, whilst the crushing truth enveloped. Knowing they don't make this type of mistake.
"I made the long journey home, unaware of the nightmare about to unfold and that I would no longer just be me and instead forever be the woman whose sister was murdered.
"The 21st of January 2024, finding out your sister has been murdered and identifying her body, all while being five months pregnant, saw the painful realisation and heartache as the unbearable truth became my reality.
"Seeing Tara left a lasting memory that will stay with me until the day I die, of the pain she suffered in her final moments etched on her face in death.
"All the time I'm thinking I've suffered the worst pain but it's endless and keeps coming.
"We were given her belongings that remained at the house, going through these was a painful ordeal - made harder than it should have been as it was mixed with clothes of the man who murdered her.
"You find out snippets of information. They believe that Tara had been dead for a while before she was found, an allegation of strangulation made on the 6th but you're told Adam's released.
"Again another allegation of violence is made on the 18th and again Adam is released, only this time you then murdered Tara and you can't help but feel angry that nothing was done, and that had she of been listened to and taken seriously. Her death was in fact preventable.
"You then have to re-live it all throughout the trial, finding out information you knew and a lot you didn't, such as you did in fact strangle her on the 6th but that you also did it multiple times before that too.
"What you actually did was torture Tara daily, from a slap, punch, to strangling her to the point of unconsciousness to let her breathe, to repeat the cycle, over and over.
"You left her feeling scared and frightened, knowing that every time she reached out for help, she risked her life if they did nothing, which is exactly what happened.
"I can never unsee the footage of Tara, neither will I ever be able to not feel her pain. I left the trial quiet and subdued every day, trying to process all the information heard and horrified as the true facts were coming to light.
"Following her death I have felt an overriding emotion of the most intense anger.
"Angry at you, the coward who took her life when you had no right to, angry with the professionals that Tara reached out to on numerous occasions for help and who should have protected her from him, angry that no amount of justice will change that.
"Tara is no longer here, and because of your actions and this unimaginable amount of anger you didn't only take her life you took away my right to grieve my sister’s death.
"The anger, pain and torture I feel daily is suffocating. I hope that one day I will not have to read and re-read the news articles daily to make me believe this has happened, that Tara is dead because you murdered her.
"Right now it feels like I'm living in a make-believe world, pretending that Tara is still a part of it, because it's easier than the reality of a lifetime without her.
"Preparing for her funeral brought about even more heartbreak.
"I should not be burying my little sister.
"I should never have had to write a eulogy and poems to be read out.
"Going through pictures for the service was devastating again, made worse by having to request for us to have her personal possessions so that we could recover her own personal photos too.
"Receiving the box containing her belongings and being overcome by the smell of death that lingered on her worldly possessions from her being left dead for over 24 hours before she was found.
"I smell this smell every day and everywhere.
"My outlook on life had changed following Tara's death.
"In the first few months I became fearful and paranoid, for the safety of my family and myself.
"And following that I've just shut down and become cautious.
"I am no longer able to trust people and know that I will never be the same person I once was. Her death and the circumstances in which her life was taken will have a damaging lasting effect in which I can do no more than live in the moment as the thought of forever without Tara is too painful to bear.
"I think about Tara every day.
"As I wake it's yet another day without her, but by far the worst time is the evenings alone with my thoughts.
"This is when my mind won't switch off and instead it runs through everything that I know and replays her final moments over and over again, and I am aware that no amount of time will ever break me free from the torment and torture of her death.
"I am appalled and disgusted that you had such disregard for a person’s life, especially one which you said you loved.
"I cling to memories of Tara; I hold them tight to keep them safe.
"As children we shared many years of happiness and laughter and memories that we would recount as adults that always made us laugh uncontrollably.
"As we entered adulthood and become parents ourselves Tara, Tanita and I would spend our days raising our children together.
"Tara was so close to my first born that throughout his life, up until her death, whenever we spoke she would always ask me how her son was as that's how she saw him.
"Having got an extra bond with him from helping me with childcare, taking him to school and back whilst I worked.
"She loved him like her own and it is one of many endearing moments of her that I will never forget.
"Tara's life did become troubled as she was embroiled in addiction with alcohol but my love for her never faulted and anytime she needed help and anything I could do for her I did.
"Always hoping that one day she would be free of her addiction, and I would have my loving sister back and my children their loving Aunt, who I knew all along remained hidden underneath her struggles.
"Little did I know that before she had that chance her life would be taken by a monster.
"The last time she phoned me would be the last time I would ever get to speak to her, she had to go as she was getting another call and said she would call back, but she never did.
"I ask myself all the time why she never mentioned the suffering she was going through.
"Why didn't she tell me that Adam had been violent to her, why didn't she contact me and tell me that Adam strangled her on multiple occasions?
"And why didn't the professionals she reached out to for help inform her family of what was happening, why didn't they believe her?
"It's no wonder she stopped cooperating come the 18th January when she wasn't believed before, and those reasons for her complaints being dismissed currently remain unclear
"Adam, I can never forgive you for what you have done, and I hope her death torments you as much as it has me and causes you permanent sleepless nights.
"Tara lived in fear every day because of your onslaught of abuse, you controlled her with violence and if she dared to speak up, she would pay the price. In the end she did pay the ultimate price.
"You have shown total disregard for Tara's life whilst alive and in her death and have shown no remorse for what you have done and for the everlasting effects your actions would have on those that love her.
"Tara will never be forgotten and will be remembered fondly with love.
"I would give anything to be able to speak to her, see her and hold her once more. We had so much yet to share together, conversations that we will never have, meeting family members yet to be born, a lifetime of memories yet to be made, growing old together.
"You took this all away whilst there was still so much life for Tara to live.
"Whilst it will always remain that I have more questions than answers, I have found some solace in knowing she can rest in peace and is safe with our parents and that you will never be able to hurt or harm her again.
"And whilst the impact of what you have done will never end I take comfort in knowing that I have happy memories of the life and love we shared and I will continue to have moments of happiness when I smile and laugh and in them moments I have the chance just for a little bit to forget the daily pain I'm suffering."
Yvonne Kershaw
"We never got to say goodbye to Tara, unaware of the events that took place in which her life was brutally taken from her.
"Tara wasn't perfect, nobody is, but she was kind, caring and loving.
"Up until her addiction with alcohol had taken over she had and was living a happy life in which she was married, in a loving relationship, and raising her young children.
"We are relieved that we have got Tara justice although no punishment that you receive will ever compare to the pain and torture that you have inflicted on us, so the truth is there will never be any real justice. Because nothing will change what you did and bring our sister back.
"We are heartbroken at the suffering, the violence and the pain she had endured at the hands of Adam during her last year on this earth and with facing a future without her.
"You didn't only just take away Tara's life, you left children without a mother, siblings without their sister and many nieces and nephews without their auntie.
"Tara has family she never got to meet and a lifetime of memories that will never be made.
"She will never get to see her children finish school, graduate from college or university, she won't get to see them get married or even meet any grandchildren. And likewise her daughters and future grandchildren will face all these milestones without their mother and nanny by their side.
"As we continue our lives with our families and making memories, we are forever left feeling bittersweet that Tara is not here to make those same memories and to enjoy all the different seasons of life.
"You’re a coward and have shown no remorse in having taken her life, the woman you proclaimed to have supposedly loved and would never hurt.
"Instead you violently and cold-heartedly murdered her after being repeatedly violent to her, including strangling her twice previously with no regard for her life or those who would forever be affected by your actions. You have instead shown nothing more than arrogance, by attempting to make out your actions were lawful for this heinous crime.
"Tara died in horrendous circumstance, and we will be forever haunted with the knowledge that her final moments on this earth were violent and painful, and she faced terror and brutality alone with the man she loved and thought loved her but was intent on doing her harm.
"Tortured by what she would have been thinking during her final moments of knowing she was going to die.
"How long was she conscious for?
"Did you say anything to her whilst your hands were round her throat taking her life?
"Did she say anything to you?
"Why did she not defend herself, does this suggest she was sleeping when you attacked her?
"When was it that she knew this time, she wasn't going to survive?
"These are the questions that will forever plague our minds and knowing we will never truly get the answers we need.
"Knowing that whilst she was intoxicated, she remained conscious, which was why her blood vessels burst from you strangling her. And whilst it may have only been seconds for her to lose consciousness, those seconds become a long time when being strangled.
"It disgusts us that you were the last person to see her alive, touch and speak to her.
"It haunts us all to think how scared she must have been, the last moments of her life not with loved ones.
"We hate to think of her being so scared and alone and that in her last moments she had no one with her.
"No kindness. No love.
"We hate that we weren’t there to save her, to stop you.
"We are sick at the thought that her last moments on this earth alive were so horrific and that she remained dead and alone for at least a further 24 hours, left on a floor, like she was nothing.
"There are no consoling thoughts in the way Tara died or any comfort.
"We are not able to grieve her death in the way in which you grieve for the loss of loved one through an illness or accident who would have been helped and surrounded her with love and care.
"Many of her family never even got the chance to see her one last time to say goodbye and those that did either saw her twice once having to identify her and then in the Chapel of Rest in which she had dust patches on her face, like mould spores on rotting skin.
"We had to wait months for her to be released to us, making it difficult to preserve her body and not knowing at the time that her hyoid and larynx were placed next to her and not in her.
"And then being asked if they could have them back for further testing, so she was buried without them.
"We are still unaware whether her brain was placed back in her head or next to her body after being removed for testing.
"You have caused so much trauma, so much sadness within our family that will never repair.
"As a family we hope that having got Tara the justice she deserves that we can now start to grieve and come to peace with her death.
"Lastly, we would like to thank all those involved in the investigation for their hard work, kindness, and compassion and for helping to get justice for Tara.
"May she now rest in eternal peace, we all will love and miss you forever."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article