HEARTBREAKING victim statements from the family of Paul Taylor were read out in court on Wednesday.
They were the words of his widow Maria, his children Dom and Beth and younger siblings Angela Malloy and Lee Taylor.
Maria said: “Our lives and world were completely torn apart on 18 October 2023 with the murder of Paul.
“To us he was a husband and dad, gentle and loving. There for his family and friends whenever he was needed, a true and loyal friend. He would do anything for the kids.
“We had plans for growing old together and travelling Scotland and hopefully becoming grandparents one day. This has all been taken away by Jack — not only Paul’s life but our hopes and dreams.”
She described how the murder will impact her personally and professionally forever, adding: “The kids will not have their father there to walk them down the aisle and make silly dad jokes.
“I will never have opportunity to hear from Paul about his lifestyle choices. I do not judge him. So many questions will forever be unanswered.”
Son Dom said: “Dad will not be here for the rest of our lives. We will never hear dad’s side of the story and not have the chance to understand how he felt.”
Daughter Beth shared how she has been robbed of the chance to walk down the aisle with her father, continuing: “I will never experience him being the grandad I knew he would have been.
“The impact Jack has had on our family will impact us for the rest of our life.
“To have some boy rip that away from us is unforgivable.
“I will never get answers from my dad. That does not change the man he was to me, mum and my brother: we will love and miss him massively. He will remain in our thoughts forever.
“This is a life sentence for us.”
Meanwhile, Angela said they were all devastated “beyond words” and “numb with pain”, adding: “It’s something that should not have happened to Paul”, whom she called a true gentleman.
“Future memories, fun times, happy times, celebrations, family time, holidays have all been cruelly taken away for Paul,” she said. “Losing Paul, the torment and hurt, in these circumstances, has been horrendous and indescribable.
“It’s my personal opinion Jack Crawley knew right from wrong and he chose to act wrongly: he chose to injure and hurt Paul in an unearthly and inhumane way, to leave him in the woods for a further seven months enduring Paul to further harm.
“I believe Jack Crawley is a risk to society and a danger to others.”
Mrs Malloy revealed they drove from Yorkshire to Annan to help search for Paul when he went missing.
She added: “The emotional turmoil has been relentless. Not finding Paul for so long further compounded this.
“The torment and suffering Paul endured in life and after life, this can never be undone, and that’s the biggest impact, the impact to Paul.”
