‘I had never met my 7-year-old sister – then I discovered she’d been murdered’

‘Why did she die?’ the newspaper headline asked solemnly beneath a smiling portrait of seven-year-old Stacey Queripel.

Days earlier, the schoolgirl had seemingly vanished from her family home in Bracknell on January 24 1993. Just two hours after she’d been reported missing by her mother, Gilliane, her body was found in nearby woodland.

Tragically, 33 years later, the question of what happened to Stacey remains – none more so than for her sister Vickie Robertson.

Aged just 13, she had spotted the newspaper front page and instantly recognised the young girl’s face. Beaming back at her was her sister, Stacey. However, due to a troubled upbringing, the pair had never met – and now the opportunity for them to ever get to know each other had been snatched forever.

For the last two decades, domestic violence charity founder Vickie has campaigned tirelessly to find out what had happened to her younger sister.

‘Stacey’s name deserves to be kept alive. That’s my driving force,’ she tells Metro. ‘Her killer has had years of freedom she didn’t get.’

Although she was adopted at the age of three, Vickie explains that she spent the first few years of her life with her birth mother and can recall snapshots of the volatile environment she was born into. ‘There was ongoing domestic violence and my stepdad was eventually imprisoned,’ she explains. ‘I may not remember everything, but I still carry the physical and invisible scars.’

Her birth mother went on to have two more children and would occasionally send pictures of them to Vickie throughout the years via her adoptive family. ‘I desperately hoped one day I would meet them. I have a picture of Stacey holding a photo of me,’ she remembers.

When Vickie discovered her sister’s photo on the front page of the newspaper, she ‘immediately knew who it was’.

‘I told my [adoptive] mum, who called social services,’ recalls Vickie. ‘The police came to confirm the news. They told me it wasn’t accidental – my sister had been murdered.’

As the details of her death unfolded, it transpired that Stacey had been strangled by her plastic necklace. Home Office pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd, concluded that she had likely been killed elsewhere before leaving in the woodland, as her shoes were clean despite the muddy undergrowth.

Their mother, Gilliane, was arrested but released without charge.

An inquest later recorded the little girl’s death as unlawful killing – but due to no clear evidence, no one has ever been charged for her death, despite fresh police appeals.

Grappling with a hurricane of conflicting emotions, Stacey’s death took its toll on Vickie, as the teenager realised she would never experience the reunion she had dreamt of. ‘It’s the news that you hope isn’t true. Then realisation hits: I clung to the dream of connecting with my family – it kept me going,’ she explains.

‘When it was whipped away I felt grief for a life that I’ll never have. I also felt guilty for not being able to protect her. Why wasn’t it me instead of Stacey?

‘Seeing your birth mum arrested and on the national news was incredibly isolating – I felt like I was living in a zombie state,’ adds Vickie. ‘It was a lot to bear, and as a result I even attempted to take my life as a teenager.

‘I wanted to be reunited with my sister and thought I didn’t deserve to be here.’

As Vickie reached adulthood, she found herself in a dangerous cycle of domestic abuse, just as she had experienced as a child.

After giving birth to her eldest child in 2008, Vickie went on to become entangled in a 13 year abusive relationship, in which she had her second child. The victim of domineering behaviour, she was forbidden from even using the bathroom or changing sanitary pads after the birth, in case the baby needed her. 

When she was 34 weeks pregnant with her third baby in 2009, Vickie was physically attacked in front of one of her children, after she took too long to do the food shopping. ‘Hearing my daughter’s scream will haunt me forever,’ she admits. ‘She saved my life. Despite the horrific assault, the most degrading part was him spitting in my face. I felt less than human’.

Her partner was eventually convicted of multiple offences, including assault by beating, stalking, harassment and breach of non-molestation order.

‘The life I had escaped as a child had now become my normal. It was a rollercoaster of emotions,’ she remembers. ‘The lowest point was not knowing myself anymore. Looking back, I feel angry that I missed much of my kids’ childhood because I was consumed with keeping everyone safe.’

It was after she saw the horrifying images of drowned refugee toddler Alan Kurdi in 2015, that Vickie found the strength to change her life. ‘I had a child of a similar age and was deeply moved. I started supporting refugees, which infuriated my partner at the time. But helping people brought me so much happiness – I think that was my turning point.’

Helping others spurred Vickie to set up her own domestic violence support charity called, Kaleidoscopic. ‘I want to help people to thrive, not just survive,’ she explains.

Initially established as a ‘Coffee, Cake and Craft’ support group, the charity now delivers sessions to over 10 sites each month, including a specialised playgroup that allows mums to connect with others who have faced similar situations.  ‘I get quite emotional thinking about it. I’ve created the services I never had when I escaped,’ she says. 

Vickie also spends her time pushing for answers to what happened to her sister. After 30 years, the case was eventually reinvestigated, with support of Bracknell MP, James Sunderland.

Peter Beirne, head of the force’s major crime investigation review team, has said he believes there are people who have ‘information or suspicions about Stacey’s murder, but for whatever reason have yet to inform the police.

‘The time has come to provide that information,’ he told reporters. ‘My team will never stop investigating cold case murders.’

However, as so much time has passed, two issues now shroud Stacey’s case. While some evidence can no longer be tested, time also erodes validity and witness testimony. ‘Why do we not have national guidance?’ Vickie asks.

It’s why she is now calling on the government to create Stacey’s Law, making sure all serious cold cases are reviewed within 5–10 years. ‘Some regions already do this, why not all? Justice shouldn’t rely on a postcode lottery,’ she says.

‘If we can change the system for others, that’s for Stacey,’ says Vickie. ‘No one should have to wait 33 years for justice.’

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