I watched my mum’s evil murderers laugh in court after she was stabbed to death – now one of them walks free
ALISON Connolly died from a single stab wound to the right side of her chest inflicted by a steak knife on May 12, 2015, in Swindon, Wilts.
Sisters Charice and Amberstasia Gassmann, then 19 and 23 respectively and also from Swindon, both denied murder.
But Charice was jailed for life and told she must serve a minimum of 19 years, while Amberstasia was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Amberstasia was sentenced to 12 years in prison and after serving half of her sentence, she was released on licence in 2021.
Ten years on from the murder, Alison’s daughter Tara Proffitt says her family have been left with the pain of knowing there has not been justice for her mum’s death.
Tara said: “We’ve never coped, it may be 10 years, but it still feels like last week to us all.
“How do you ever overcome something like your mum being taken in that cruel way?
“We were like best friends more than mum and daughter.
“It’s had a massive impact on our lives. I was always a bubbly and very strong person.
“You never think something like that will happen in your family and when it does you’re cautious of who you have around you and you don’t trust anyone.
“There’s no justice for what happened to my mum and it’s had a knock-on effect.
“My children have had to grow up without their nan and the memories of seeing her bubbly, kind nature and it’s been stolen from them. That’s the most hurtful thing for me.
“I’m angry at the justice system, and angry we’re allowing people to take lives and not persecuting them appropriately.
“The way she was murdered and the way it was set up, they knew what they were out to do, and it was pre-meditated.
“The sentence should have been longer.
“They were laughing in the court, and my mum had been taken, who I massively adored, and I had to watch them laughing and mocking my dead mum.
We’ve been serving the life sentence through pain and loss and sorrow because mum’s no longer here
Tara Proffitt
“The judge was watching and he could see how conniving and evil they were, if they didn’t act like that, they would have got even less, 10 years is nothing to them.
“For the rest of our lives now we have to live with this and they can walk out of prison and have children and a family and get on with their lives.
“They’re not scared of that and they should be scared to commit crime.
“There’s no example being set to perpetrators because they will only serve a few years in prison, there’s no justice in the first place and a sentence between three and nine or ten years is a slap on the wrist.
“It’s a mockery of people’s lives.
“We’re the ones serving the sentence, we’ve been serving the life sentence through pain and loss and sorrow because mum’s no longer here.
“My whole life has been tipped upside down.
“Regardless of [Charice] coming out or staying in prison, it won’t bring mum back.
They say time is a healer but it’s not, it gets worse
Tara Proffitt
“How can you ever grieve and what kind of justice are we showing to a perpetrator who wants to commit these disgusting crimes? It’s vile.
“It’s happening every second of the day, not just our family, but families are being left with a lifetime of pain and no justice.
“Mum was one of a kind and she wouldn’t send them any hatred.
“I send them healing and I’ve let go of that anger I have for them, otherwise they are still winning.
Grieving
“They say time is a healer but it’s not, it gets worse, but you learn to cope with the pain and it’s a loss and pain you can’t explain.
“I hope they heal from taking a beautiful one of a kind soul.
“Mum is part of me and I’m part of her and we have that connection nobody can take, she had such a courageous, bold personality and that’s what I miss about her and the funny memories I have with her can never be stolen.”
Tara added: “We’ve had her ashes for ten years as we haven’t been able to let go and we’ve been holding onto the memories of mum.
“Dad passed recently and we spread their ashes in the sea together in Wales and they are back together now.”
The family have also been left fighting appeals over the years as Charice and Amberstasia tried to challenge their conviction.
Charice Gassmann’s defence team tried to argue she was suffering a serious mental health condition, but her appeal was rejected in 2017.
What is manslaughter?
MANSLAUGHTER is a legal term used to describe the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought.
It is generally considered a less severe offence than murder.
In British law, manslaughter can be classified into two main categories:
- Voluntary Manslaughter: This occurs when the defendant had the intention to kill or cause serious harm but did so in circumstances that partially excuse the act, such as in the heat of passion or under diminished responsibility.
- Involuntary Manslaughter: This occurs when the defendant did not have the intention to kill or cause serious harm but caused death through reckless or negligent behaviour. This can include situations where the defendant’s actions were unlawful or dangerous, even if they did not foresee the fatal outcome.
The specific definitions and classifications can vary, but the key element that distinguishes manslaughter from murder is the lack of premeditation or intent to cause death.