DRIVING home from the NHS hospital where she worked as a mental health support worker, Tammy Young yawned.
It had been a long day and she couldn’t wait to snuggle up with her partner of 26 years, Kelvin Ward.
As they always did, the pair – who were not married but affectionately called themselves “hubby and wifey” – had chatted several times throughout that day in April 2023, and Tammy decided to give him one last call before she reached their home in Solihull, Birmingham, West Mids.
“I’ll be back soon, we’re just at KFC,” said labourer Kelvin, 50, with whom she shared a son Lucas, 22, and daughters Carys, 25, and Nicki, 29.
Kelvin and Lucas’s KFC tea was a special treat they shared together. It was a tradition which had started in 2020 after Lucas, then 18, began working with his dad as a labourer too. Tammy, 48, says: “They’d go to the gym and then have a snack. Both loved it.
Kelvin adored being a dad and doted on all the kids.
“I laughed and said, ‘See you soon’, before hanging up,” she continues.
But just minutes later Nicki called, Tammy recalls. “She was crying and said, ‘Something bad has happened to Dad. He’s lying in the road in Castle Bromwich getting CPR’.
“I didn’t believe it and told her she was wrong and that I had just spoken to him.
“But even so I went there. I just wanted to check it out. I’d tried calling Kelvin but there was no answer.
“My heart was in my mouth as I drove there, praying that it would all be OK.
“But as I pulled in, it was chaos. There were police vans, ambulances and crowds of people everywhere, watching something.
“But even then I stayed calm, still telling myself it was a misunderstanding, that something had happened to someone else.
“But then I saw Kelvin lying in the road. There was blood everywhere. I thought I was going to pass out and yelled his name. I felt sick with worry and fear.”
It was then that Tammy spotted Lucas next to Kelvin.
She recalls: “He was watching his dad in horror. Paramedics were frantically working on Kelvin but I was in such a state of shock, I couldn’t even cry.
I felt like I was in a dream. I thought at any moment I was going to wake up. I was just numb, and Lucas was devastated and kept blaming himself.
Tammy Young
“As I reached him Lucas kept crying, ‘It should have been me’, but I didn’t understand why.
“I thought Kelvin had been hit by a car, I couldn’t imagine what else could have happened. I tried to get close, but there were numerous paramedics doing CPR on him.
“Kelvin’s eyes were open for a moment, then they closed. Everything around me blurred as I heard police and paramedics apologising to me, giving their condolences.”
As the police confirmed Kelvin had died, they took Lucas and Tammy to Chelmsley Wood Police Station and a tent was put up around Kelvin’s lifeless body.
She continues: “I felt like I was in a dream. I thought at any moment I was going to wake up. I was just numb, and Lucas was devastated and kept blaming himself. I didn’t understand why.”
They explained that Kelvin had been stabbed through the heart. They had tried giving him CPR for over 30 minutes, but he had died. “I didn’t feel like it was real, I felt like I was trapped in a horror episode of a TV show.
Tammy Young
But it was there that Tammy learned from her son and the police that Kelvin hadn’t been hit by a car but had been murdered – just seconds after they had finished their final, affectionate phone call.
And their target was not Kelvin but Lucas. His dad had saved his son, but died in the process.
“They explained that Kelvin had been stabbed through the heart,” she says. “They had tried giving him CPR for over 30 minutes, but he had died. I didn’t feel like it was real, I felt like I was trapped in a horror episode of a TV show.”
Tammy learned that four armed thugs wearing black balaclavas had arrived at the KFC drive-thru in a stolen Ford Kuga and rammed repeatedly into Lucas’s Vauxhall Corsa until the airbags inflated.
She says: “The gang yelled at Lucas, ‘Get him now, kill him – everyone kill him’. Kelvin heard, and shouted at Lucas, ‘Run! Run now!’ Lucas jumped out and ran for his life.
“A passer-by gave Lucas his e-bike and he got away.”
But Kelvin, terrified for Lucas’s life, jumped in the front seat and desperately drove towards Lucas.”
The gang then targeted Kelvin, who ran off through the streets as the gang chased him in broad daylight armed with large zombie knives – named after the giant ornate knives often seen in horror films.
I didn’t know if I’d ever be the same. But I was also proud of Kelvin. He did what every loving father would do and it was so typical of him. If it were me in that car at KFC, I would have done the same.
Tammy Young
Two of the gang, Leighton Williams and Tyrone Hollywood, stabbed Kelvin in the heart and repeatedly struck him with their machetes as horrified locals watched. Tammy says: “Hearing how my Kelvin was senselessly killed by such evil broke me.
“My world ended that day. “After finally realising it was all true and what had happened, sobs tore through my chest.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever be the same. But I was also proud of Kelvin. He did what every loving father would do and it was so typical of him.
“If it were me in that car at KFC, I would have done the same. I was eternally grateful to the member of the public who had given Lucas the e-bike.
“If he hadn’t, things could have turned out differently. My son might not have been here as well.”
Back at home, Tammy and her children were in agony. They felt pure hatred for Kelvin’s killers, who had targeted Lucas after a minor scuffle.
The gang, who were previously friends with Lucas, had even besieged the Ward family home just days before the murder.
Then, although Lucas had nothing to do with gangs, they had planned his murder.
Today across Britain, there are estimated to be 70,000 gang members, with more than 18,500 knife crime incidents last year. In the midst of her grieving, Tammy soon discovered the killers had uploaded diss tracks songs meant to verbally attack or insult another person – on Instagram and Snapchat.
One of them rapped about murdering Kelvin, and one lyric said: “Your dad’s not coming back, he’s not coming back.”
Tammy says: “They were pure evil. I was hysterical.” In the next few weeks the police found the culprits, arresting them one by one in their homes around Birmingham, except for one, Aaron Coates, who was found in London.
But sickeningly, all denied killing Kelvin. Tammy says: “Over the next year my family and I were a mess, especially Lucas, who kept blaming himself, and had to deal with survivor’s guilt.
“Still unable to let it sink in, I got through a lot of days by pretending Kelvin was at work, or away on a work trip. I even believed it.
“I couldn’t come to terms with him being gone, and how I’d never see his face or hear his voice again.”
Still unable to let it sink in, I got through a lot of days by pretending Kelvin was at work, or away on a work trip. I even believed it.
Tammy Young
In April this year — a year after the attack — Williams, 29, Hollywood, 17, Coates, 18, and Rusharn Williams-Reid, 18, appeared at Coventry Crown Court where they pleaded not guilty to killing Kelvin.
Tammy says: “I chose to attend the trial. I wanted to see these thugs who had ruined my life. Before it began I was shown the CCTV footage of the attack.
“Watching the man I loved, stabbed by such savage people then left to die like roadkill broke my heart.
“It was disgraceful. I sobbed as I saw he was killed for absolutely nothing.
“The CCTV footage of Kelvin being killed also went viral on the internet. It was all over TikTok, my niece told me about it.
Watching the man I loved, stabbed by such savage people then left to die like roadkill broke my heart. It was disgraceful. I sobbed as I saw he was killed for absolutely nothing.
Tammy Young
“I felt disheartened, worrying people were mocking it. I couldn’t bear to see it and avoided going online all year before the trial.”
As the family cried in the public gallery, each of the gang laughed at them. Some were also threatening, scaring the jury and staff by swearing and yelling.
At one point the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb, asked the jury to leave to warn the perpetrators to behave or there would be a mistrial declared.
Tammy says: “But in the end, the jury saw them for the twisted monsters that they were.”
Williams and Hollywood were found guilty of murder and jailed for life with minimum terms of 29 and 19 years respectively. Coates, 18, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years. Rusharn Williams-Reid, 18, was found guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to murder Lucas, and jailed for 13½ years.
The CCTV footage of Kelvin being killed also went viral on the internet. It was all over TikTok, my niece told me about it.
Tammy Young
Tammy says: “Kelvin was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. We met on a bus in 1997, he was a charmer and a joker, making everyone laugh.
“He had a broad Peaky Blinders accent – you’d always hear him before you’d see him. He was my twin flame, I remember our first kiss and I don’t think I’ll find love again.
“We didn’t spend a day apart and he was the best father.
“They deserved the death sentence. They shouldn’t have had human rights after taking a life.
“Now our lives have been destroyed and these gangs don’t ever learn.”
By Tammy Young, knife campaigner
“Kelvin was the love of my life. He was a fantastic partner, father, son, brother and good friend to many. He always put himself out for other people and if anyone needed a job doing or shoulder to cry on, he’d be there.
“He was very unique and there was never a dull moment when he was around. He was funny, the life and soul of a party, he worked hard to provide for his family, he had so much more to live for and loved life.
“We didn’t even get to say goodbye instead we got to watch videos of his last moments which was horrific.
“To see the man I love stabbed by savage people then left to die like ‘road kill’ dumped on a road is disgraceful and no one should have to go through that.
“The measure of how good a man is, is by how many people turned up at his funeral. There was estimated to be 500 people and Kelvin had a special connection with each one who attended.
“The church was so full that people stood outside.
“Knife crime is a huge problem in the UK. We hear about it every day. The levels of violence are increasing and this is why we need longer sentences on those caught with knives or machetes.
“It’s our news today and could be yours tomorrow. We need to send a message to the young people that life is not a computer game, but it appears that this is exactly what the younger generation are treating life as. It appears that they believe they have the authority to decide on someone’s fate?”
So that Kelvin’s death would not be in vain, Tammy began campaigning about knife crime in schools across the UK, and pleading with local councils to invest in bleed kits, which can stop life-threatening bleeding until paramedics arrive.
Such a kit could have saved Kelvin’s life. Tammy has also been warning youngsters of the devastating consequences that carrying knives can have. She says: “Knife crime is an epidemic in the UK and more needs to be done.
“You can buy zombie knives online and they even hand out free balaclavas with your order. It’s disgusting.”
You can buy zombie knives online and they even hand out free balaclavas with your order. It’s disgusting.
Tammy Young
Tammy, who still works for the NHS, says: “My heart is broken. I’m so angry, I can’t move on.
“I know Kelvin would want me to be happy and move forward. I’m just trying to be the best mum I can to my kids.
“My children are still traumatised by the videos and memories, missing their father every day.
“Although Kelvin was taken so cruelly, the only thing that helps me is that he died a hero, protecting our son.”
