Family of Gravesend security guard killed in Brixton Academy crush desperate for information a year on
Gaby Hutchinson was working at the venue the night thousands arrived hoping to get into a sold-out gig.
Transcript
00:00 "Overwhelmed." "Sad, tired." "Broken."
00:07 Gabby Hutchinson's sisters, speaking 12 months since their sibling's death.
00:12 He died in a crush at the Brixton Academy when fans tried to get into a show by artist Asha Kay.
00:18 The Gravesend-born security guard was working at the event.
00:22 While Gabby's sisters refer to him as 'she', they requested that media outlets refer to him as 'he'.
00:28 A year on, they still have many unanswered questions and are still appealing for information.
00:35 "Just overall, what happened? Why did it happen? What went wrong?
00:39 How can we make things better so this doesn't happen to another family?"
00:43 "The most we can hope is that people can kind of relate to us. Gabby went to work and never came home.
00:48 She was a sibling, she was a parent, you know, a child.
00:53 People all have these things, so surely they can understand and want to help."
00:59 This is exactly where thousands arrived that night, exactly a year ago today.
01:05 But it was inside the building in the foyer where Gabby was, when those thousands rushed in.
01:11 Four days later, Gabby died in hospital.
01:15 "Still no different to what he was when we left that hospital that day."
01:20 "I often try to describe it as, you know when you have an arm and you lose it and you have that phantom limb,
01:26 you can feel the pain, you can feel that it should still be there. It's the same as loss.
01:29 There's a massive hole that's gone and you know it should be filled, but it's not."
01:34 Now, the police are issuing a renewed appeal in the hope more witnesses will come forward.
01:40 You can call the investigation team on this number or visit Crimestoppers anonymously online.
01:46 But what's key for the police is to determine exactly what happened that night.
01:52 "We know a lot more. We know a lot more. We know that there is reasonable grounds to suspect there was criminality afoot.
02:01 And you know, without naming names, I can say that we are investigating corporate entities.
02:07 We are investigating individuals suspected of criminality.
02:12 Those in employment and those that were attending the concert as concert goes.
02:17 Through extensive CCTV investigation, we've identified 13 individuals that we believe could possibly give us more information about what went on that night.
02:29 Facial images of these people are being released today."
02:32 In a statement, Academy Music Group say they're devastated by the events last year.
02:37 Over the past 12 months, they've learned lessons from that night to ensure it can never be repeated.
02:42 They're pleased that a plan for reopening the venue has been approved by Lambeth licensing subcommittee
02:47 and there will be an announcement for the reopening timeline in due course.
02:52 Lambeth Council says it's worked incredibly hard over the last year to find out what went wrong.
02:57 The O2 Brixton Academy remains closed and will not be reopening until it's met 77 conditions for safety for both visitors and employees.
03:07 Gabby was one of two who lost their lives that night, while one woman is still in a serious condition in hospital.
03:14 Gabby was the one who went to work and didn't come home.
03:18 But the family wants a legacy to live on.
03:21 "Gabby needs to be remembered. I know a lot of the media can focus on certain other aspects of Brixton,
03:28 but Gabby was an important person to us and what happened to her should have never happened.
03:33 She didn't go there because she was going to enjoy her concert.
03:36 She went there because she was going to her job.
03:38 And how many of us are lucky enough to go home at the end of the night?
03:41 She never came home to us."
03:43 For more information, visit www.fema.gov