Episode 486: Murder of Sophie Lancaster

<p>In the early morning hours of August 11, 2007, Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, were passing through Stubbylee Park in Lancashire, UK, when they were attacked by a group of teenage boys who beat the couple savagely, resulting in Lancaster’s death two weeks later. The next day, police arrested two of the teenagers responsible for the attack, who told authorities they’d attacked the young couple for no other reason than they were dressed like “Goths.”</p><p>The tragic assault on the young couple was shocking in and of itself, but the murder was made exponentially more shocking by the ages of the killers and the ostensibly terroristic motive, raising questions about the state of youth culture in the United Kingdom.</p><p><br></p><p>thank you to the best of the best, David White for research assistance&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>References</p><p>BBC. 2022.&nbsp;<em>Sophie Lancaster murder: Killer Ryan Herbert to be freed from jail.</em>&nbsp;March 12. Accessed March 1, 2023.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-60766768" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-60766768</a>.</p><p>Bunyan, Nigel. 2008. "Why did parents let Goth's killers roam the streets?"&nbsp;<em>Daily Telegraph</em>, March 28.</p><p>Butt, Riazet. 2007. "National: 'Tragedy beyond words' for family as woman, 20, dies after park attack."&nbsp;<em>The Guardian</em>, August 25.</p><p>Dunbar, Polly. 2008. "I've always tried to help young people escape crime."&nbsp;<em>Mail on Sunday</em>, March 30.</p><p>Evening Courier. 2008. "Boy, 15, 'kicked woman to death for being a goth'."&nbsp;<em>Evening Courier&nbsp;</em>, March 12.</p><p>—. 2008. "Two teenagers jailed for life for murder of Goth girl Sophie."&nbsp;<em>Evening Courier</em>, April 28.</p><p>Gordon, Cathy. 2008. "Goth's killers lose appeals; Teenagers must pay for 'appalling crime'."&nbsp;<em>Daily Post</em>, October 30.</p><p>Hodkinson, Mark. 2008. "United in the name of tolerance."&nbsp;<em>The Guar