Brixton Academy crush: Gaby Hutchinson’s partner wants answers

The partner of one of the people who died following the O2 Brixton Academy crush has demanded justice, saying “someone must be held accountable”.

Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, died from their injuries after fans surged to try to get into a show at the venue on 15 December.

A third victim remains in a critical condition.

Gaby’s partner, Phoebie Turley, said Gaby – who used “they” and “them” pronouns – “did not deserve this”.

They had been at the south London venue working as a security dog handler when the crush began as fans tried to get in to see Afrobeat artist Asake perform.

They died on 19 December while Ms Ikumelo, a mother of two, died two days earlier.

“Justice needs to be served and someone needs to be found accountable for what happened. Not just for Gaby, but just for Rebecca as well,” said Ms Turley.

“This consequence has come out of people turning up with no tickets or turning up trying to kick through a door.

“For what? What purpose did that serve? Because now you have killed innocent people.”

She added: “I have to keep reminding people, Gaby wasn’t there for the concert.

“They didn’t go to cause trouble. They went there precisely to do their job and keep people safe.

“And that’s the only thing that gives me comfort is they did save some people that night whether they lost their life or not. They saved other people in the process.”

The Met Police has launched an investigation.

The couple, both from Gravesend in Kent, had been dating for more than three years.

“They were just a good person,” Ms Turley said.

“Gaby literally would have done anything for anyone at the drop of a hat.

“They weren’t bothered who you were, Gaby would have given you the shirt off their back if someone else needed it. And they were like that our entire relationship. They did everything for me from the minute we met.”

Ms Turley said she became aware something was wrong when her partner stopped answering her messages.

“The last thing they said to me was, ‘I’ll wake you up when I’m home’. And I just had a gut feeling the whole time that something wasn’t right.

“Normally, they would still reply here and there when they got five minutes, and I heard nothing.”

Ms Turley went to St Thomas’s Hospital after receiving a call from Gaby’s manager.

“Nobody was really aware of the situation at that point,” she said.

“He’d obviously been given very little information because he wasn’t at the event. And then we all got to St Thomas’s as fast as we could.”

Ms Turley and a family friend have set up two crowdfunding pages to help pay for funeral costs. So far, more than £5,000 has been raised.

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