Sunday, 29 Sep 2024

Father and daughter killed in Plymouth shooting share same coffin as hundreds attend funeral

Two victims of the Plymouth shooting, a three-year-old girl and her father, were carried in the same coffin at a funeral attended by hundreds of mourners.

Sophie Martyn and her 43-year-old father, Lee, were walking their dog when they were shot dead by gunman Jake Davison last month.

About 300 of their family and friends gathered inside the Minster Church of St Andrew, in Royal Parade, Plymouth, to pay their respects.

Others waited outside during the service, which lasted an hour.

A single white coffin was carried into and out of the church by pallbearers.

Lee Martyn’s cousin Jess Morcom previously said he “had the kindest heart, would do anything for anybody,” and “you only had to take one look at him to see how much he loved and adored his family”.

“I was always so proud to be able to say you were my cousin,” she added. “The world is going to be a much darker place without you in it.”

In a tribute to Sophie on Twitter, Ms Morcom said her family had been “truly blessed” to have “seen you grow into such a beautiful, funny and clever girl” over the three years of her life.

“My heart hurts so much thinking about how it should have been so many more,” she said. “I will miss your cheekiness and your dancing the most.”

Ms Morcom said she would think of the pair “every single day” for the rest of her life, adding: “Our family will never be the same.”

Lee Martyn, 43, and his daughter Sophie were fatally shot in the head by Jake Davison in the Keyham area of the city.

Mr Martyn also sustained shotgun wounds to his chest.

The shooting began just after 6pm on 12 August, when Davison killed his 51-year-old mother Maxine Davison at a house in Biddick Drive during an argument.

The 22-year-old then went into the street and killed Sophie and Lee Martyn, before shooting at two residents – a man aged 33 and a 53-year-old woman – who both suffered significant injuries.

The gunman went on to enter a nearby park, where he killed Stephen Washington, 59, who was walking his dogs.

The final victim of Davison’s rampage was Kate Shepherd, a 66-year-old married artist, who was shot in the abdomen on Henderson Close. She later died in Derriford Hospital.

Davison then turned the gun on himself before armed officers reached him.

The shooting is the subject of three separate inquiries by the Plymouth coroner, the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the National Police Chiefs Council.

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