The twin brother of a teenager brutally kicked to death while protecting his father was found hanging from a tree after he could no longer face life without him.
The body of Ian Erskine, who had left a suicide note, was found in woodland within a mile of his home almost exactly a year after his brother's killers were jailed for murder.
Ian's family said yesterday that the 21-year-old had never got over the death of his twin, Anthony, who died in front of his horrified father outside the family home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in January last year.
At the family's semi-detached home, Ian's aunt said: ''They were twins and they were close . . . what more is there to say?''
She added: ''Ian never really got over his brother's death and his mother has now lost two sons. The family are very upset, as you might expect, and they just want to be left alone to grieve.''
Ian's body was discovered by a couple walking their dog in woods at Welcombe Hills, Stratford, on Saturday morning. Police are not treating the death as suspicious.
The twin was reported missing by his distraught parents, Harry and Dorothy, shortly before 11pm on Friday and police immediately launched a fruitless search of the cemetery where Anthony is buried and nearby woods.
Ian went missing a year and six days after Mark Hemmens, then 20, and Damian Collins, then 16, were found guilty of Anthony's murder by a majority verdict.
A judge at Birmingham Crown Court sentenced Hemmens to life imprisonment and ordered that Collins should be detained indefinitely.
Anthony was kicked to death in the front garden of his home after he tried to remonstrate with thugs who had been tormenting his father.
The 19-year-old was felled by punches and kicks from both youths, who continued to kick him after he lost consciousness.
His father told the jury he found himself frozen to the spot during the savage attack, unable to believe what he was watching.
The Erskine family had long been taunted by the elder killer, who had bullied Anthony and Ian before the murder.
Speaking after the pair were sentenced, the twins' mother, Dorothy, said prophetically: ''This is not the end but another chapter in a terrible nightmare. We cannot look forward to the future with any confidence. There have been threats since my son died. The harassment has not stopped.''
At a news conference, Mrs Erskine, who also has another son and a daughter, added: ''My son Ian was told after the trial: 'You will be dead; your face will look like your brother's'.''
A Warwickshire Police spokeswoman said: ''At 8.45am on Saturday November 8 the body of 21-year-old Ian Erskine, of Woodlands Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, was found hanging from a tree in woods on the Welcombe Hills, Stratford.
''The body was found by a couple walking their dog. Police are satisfied that there are no suspicious circumstances and the death has been reported to the county coroner, Mr Michael Coker.''
The coroner will hold an inquiry.
She added: ''I can confirm there was a suicide note, but the contents are a matter for the coroner.''
Anthony's killing was the culmination of a campaign of alleged bullying on the Clopton Estate, where the Erskine family have lived for more than 20 years.
Three weeks after Anthony's killers were jailed, Mrs Erskine, now 48, said the Collins family had been involved in a decade-long hate campaign against her family.
Anthony drowned in his own blood and Mrs Erskine claimed his death had not halted the abuse and intimidation which she alleged had made their lives a misery.
She said both twins had been subjected to beatings on the estate, but said she had never believed the problems would escalate to murder.
Describing the day of Anthony's death, she said: ''At first I did not realise how serious it was. It was only when I arrived home that the gravity of the situation hit me.
''I saw his chest move and thought he was alive, but the eyes of the paramedic working his chest seemed to say 'I'm sorry.'''
A Warwickshire police spokesman said yesterday: ''Police officers are in contact with the family and supporting them as much as they can, but obviously this is a tragic incident.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article