This content details the tragic disappearance and murder of Libby Squire, a university student, and the subsequent investigation and conviction of her killer, highlighting the devastating impact on her family and the broader community.
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home to the University of Hull which
looks after around 14 000 students
amongst those students was 21 year old
Liberty Squire who went by Libby Libby
was in her second year and had thrived
at University
she had done well in her studies enjoyed
the social aspect that being at
University gave her and had a great
group of friends
those that knew her said she was
wickedly fun talented witty and always
made an effort to include everybody
she was a doting big sister to her
brother and two sisters and was very
close to her mother Lisa and father Russell
Russell
Libby had always been very bright and
pushed herself hard to achieve good
grades but family said she definitely
held herself to an impossibly high
standard her mental health soon started
suffering she was battling an eating
disorder self-harming and her grades
were slipping
she continued to push through and
persevered to get her a-levels and was
beaming when she was accepted into
University to study philosophy
Lisa said she was worried about her
daughter being so far away not wanting
her mental health to start suffering
again but Libby was adamant it was for
the best and couldn't wait for a fresh start
start
she took a gap year and went traveling
in Paris and by the time she got back
she was more than ready to move into the
next phase of her life [Music]
[Music]
she was in a strong relationship with
her boyfriend of three years Connor with
him saying she was the most interesting
person he'd ever met caring and
empathetic I know it's easy to say at my
age but I knew she was the person for me
he recalled
Libby was always busy and had lots of
plans already made for when she
graduated she wanted to go traveling
with her housemates and hopefully move
University had brought out another side
in her and Connor said she was more
on January 31 2019 at 8 30 PM Libby left
her students accommodation on Wellesley
Avenue and she and some friends walked
to another student house most students
nearby were going out and the plan was
that Libby and her group of friends
would have some drinks play some games
catch up and then head out to a popular
nearby club called the Welly
at around 10 pm she sent Connor a text
message to say goodnight as she was
leaving her phone at home and at 11 20
the group arrived at the nightclub
Libby was refused entry
she was clearly intoxicated and
struggling to walk or stand and the
security team turned her away saying
they regrouped and 10 minutes later her
friends put her into a taxi gave the
driver some money and told him to take
her back home they watched as the taxi
drove off and carried on with their Knights
just before 3am the group who were now
starting to arrive home and wind down
sent a text message to a housemate of
libbies that had stayed at home to see
how she was
to their alarm they said Libby hadn't
come home and they hadn't seen or heard
from her they assumed that she was still
out of the club
everybody started calling around other
people's homes wondering if she'd gone there
there
not one person had seen her and as her
phone was still at home they couldn't
get hold of her that way either they
also found her house keys in the garden too
too
Not only was Libby very intoxicated it
was bitterly cold outside and snow was
covering parts of the road
they knew this wasn't safe if she was
still out there and they called the
the police were definitely concerned and
the investigation moved quickly was it
possible that she was struggling with
her mental health again and this had
caused her to run away they wondered her
friends and family said they had to
consider every possibility
but this one was highly unlikely she had
been in the best of spirits loved her
housemates and had just received great
marks and feedback from her Christmas assignments
assignments
within just a few hours the media was
running with the story and Libby was at
the Forefront of everybody's Minds
the 2cc TV cameras are on a nearby
property agency and they show the area
where people queue to get into the Welly
nightclub here Libby Squire has seen
coming up to the club off camera she's
turned away by a doorman and then goes
back down to the group the businessman
who's released the footage to police
says he hope it serves to jog someone's
memory of seeing Libby that night the
police were able to track down the taxi driver
driver
he said he had dropped her at Wellesley
Avenue and when he glanced back he saw
her walking towards her front door
for whatever reason Libby hadn't gone inside
inside
fortunately the streets were covered by
CCTV and knowing the time she was placed
in the taxi it wasn't hard to find her
and track where she had walked after
getting out of the cab
cameras showed Libby walking on the
roads nearby at 11 37 pm
at 11 40 PM two passersby stopped to try
and help her when they found her lying
in the snow
they said Libby was crying and agitated
but didn't want any help and was Snappy
and incoherent
they felt there was nothing they could
do a group of students then saw her
outside their house and invited her in
to check that she was okay but she
carried on walking seemingly aimlessly
an authority said given how cold it was
that early morning she could well have
been suffering from the early side
since Libby Squire was last seen and
forensic officers from humbicide police
have spent today at the place where she
was last spotted they collected items of
Interest as their investigation into the
missing 21 year old student continues
police say they're extremely concerned
for her welfare specialist teams aided
by coast guards are continuing their
search efforts along the nearby River
Hull students have also helped in the
ongoing operation it doesn't feel real
if you still feels like really surreal
we were talking late last night and it
feels like something out of a movie and
the second you don't like do anything
you just get frustrated she's a lovely
person and it's so out of character for
something like this to happen please
come home we know we love you all the
support there's over 200 people in there
for you please please come home soon
obviously when people go out and they
drink sometimes you lose your phone or
you can't get home quite as easy but
she's always always made sure that she's
found a phone or anyone she can contact
to make sure someone knows she's safe
regardless of what happened so to not
hear anything from her at all is
completely not like her Libby got into a
taxi outside the Welly club in Beverly
Road at 11 PM on Thursday police believe
she got out near her home in Wellesley
Avenue just a few minutes up the road
but she was then spotted on CCTV 45
minutes later here at the junction with
Hayworth Street a male driver reportedly
saw her sitting on a bench got out to
ask if she was okay she said she was and
he drove away what happened next remains
a mystery
police said they're following up a
number of leads and are Keen to hear
from anyone who was in the area where
Libby was last seen if anyone was
driving around the area between 11 pm on
Thursday evening and 3 A.M on Friday
morning and as dash cam footage we would
urge them to come forward police efforts
supported by the community and students
in Hull continue three days since Libby
Squire was last seen Neil Connery ITV News
News
it wasn't looking good
however police said they were still
treating it as a missing person's
inquiry although reporters said behind
the scenes the detectives were actually
looking at it as an abduction
we just want to know that you're safe
please get in touch with us any way you
can the whole family is missing you
especially me and your dad sisters and
your brother I miss you so much it's
breaking my heart not knowing where you
are please come forward with any
information you may have no matter how
small or irrelevant it may be
we just want to be home
the search parties were huge and Libby's
name was all over social media and the news
the university started collaborating
with the police to arrange times and
police asked residents to check their
Gardens sheds and outbuildings to see if
she may have taken shelter there
door-to-door inquiries were being
carried out and bins and drains were
clothing that matched what she was
wearing that night started circulating
and they asked people spotted on the
CCTV around the same time an area to
please come forward [Music]
it was now national news and the biggest
investigation in homicide police's history
history
her phone was looked at but there was no
evidence on this either to indicate that
she had met up with anybody
absolutely nothing was turning up and it
really was down to the cameras to carry
it's day four of the search and now
experts are looking for clues in the
water this river is a few meters from
where missing student Libby Squire went
missing on Thursday night on the road
where Libby lives the search effort is
just as thorough police officers hoping
to find even the smallest clue to piece
together her last known movements we did
discover a mobile phone
which despite analysis has not provided
any further insight as to where she may
be or her movements at night whilst a
location is not yet known this does not
mean she has come to harm
but we must carry out a thorough
investigation and explore all possibilities
possibilities
finally police would receive their first
big tip
a resident that lived near Oaks Road
Playing Fields said he heard a woman
screaming at around quarter past
midnight and the noise was heard coming
from around the wooded area
it was so loud it woke him up and he
knew the time was exact because he had
checked his phone
he looked out of his window to see a man
hurrying towards a car
using this time frame police went back
and searched through the cameras again
and started working in reverse order
if what the neighborhood was indeed
Libby it meant there was around a 30 to
40 minute window between when she was
first seen walking around the streets to
that specific point in time it had
definitely narrowed a lot down
finally they saw something on the footage
footage
they noticed a silver Vauxhall Astra had
been circulating the area for hours
before Libby was last seen it was just
driving round and round for seemingly no reason
just before midnight this very car was
seen pulling in at the End of the Road
close to where Libby was walking
a person stepped out and crossed the
Libby appeared to be Stood Still near
the bus stop but she was actually
walking back in the direction of her house
house
the person then crossed back over and
started walking along the other side of
it appeared that whoever it was had
crossed the road to see who if anyone
Libby was with engage what the situation was
was foreign
they stopped for a minute before
Crossing back over the road and talking
five minutes then passed when the pair
were walking together but in the
opposite direction Libby had been
Libby was on the pavement and the driver
[Music]
authorities saw a few more headlights
come and go and believed whoever the
driver was was waiting for the coast to
be clear before continuing on [Music]
[Music]
at 1208 am Libby got inside whoever's
vehicle it was and the car drove off
her watch was later found in that exact
area something had caused it to come off
and police theorized that there was
likely a point where either the driver
physically tried to coax her in or
grabbed her arm to pull her in
it was such a vital piece of footage one
that if the car had been parked even a
foot further away would probably have
they now had a description of the car
and going off of What the residents had
said a time frame and a potential
location for where the car had ended up
with Libby
sure enough the car was tracked as it
pulled into Oak Road's playing fields
10 minutes then passed and this was
around the time the resident heard the screams
the car lights then came on and the car
exited the fields and headed back out
two women then also came forward with a
separate complaint but one that would
ultimately be a huge lead as well
they reported that at around 3 am a man
had stepped out in front of them on the
streets and started masturbating they
were horrified but he didn't seem
bothered at all relishing in just how
uncomfortable they were
using this time location and description
everything matched up and it was the
same man in the same car
they now had a clear image of their
Person of Interest
following his movements in the hours
before and days afterwards they got a
on February 6th the police announced
that they had made an arrest in
a mile from where she was last seen a
week since she vanished forensic
investigators have been at this house
since last night
here a 24 year old man was arrested on
suspicion of the Abduction of Libby
Squire officers also recovered a car as
part of an investigation which has
increased in Tempo in the last 24 hours
quarter past nine two playing close
policeman knocked on the door and they
were seeking access to the Back Garden
of the house next door because they
wanted to block off any Escape Route if
um and if anybody tried to leave that
way when police entered at the front
door at around midnight tonight it will
mark seven days since Libby vanished on
the land and in the water the search
continues into her disturbing disappearance
disappearance
earlier a specialist police Marine unit
examined local waterways others carried
out a search of the wooded areas
adjacent to it
the last few days have seen her shocked
fellow students as well as staff and The
Wider Community holding vigils
the car was parked down this quiet
secluded side street which is actually a
dead end there are terraced houses
either side Libby was last seen on the
main road there about 20 Paces from
where I am now the car was here for
approximately 20 minutes before it drove
off down this road at exactly the same
time that it's believed Libby disappeared
disappeared
the person they had arrested would turn
out to be 24 year old Pavel relovich a
married father of two who worked as a butcher
butcher
Pavel had moved to the UK from Poland as
a teenager and went to a catering
College near Hull
and as well as being arrested on
suspicion of the Abduction of Libby he
was also arrested for sexual offenses
they finally had their person of
interest in custody
neighbors said all they saw was a
hard-working man someone who enjoyed the
gym baking and long walks with his young family
family
he was always friendly polite and smiley
there was nothing into Ward at all
but little did anyone know Pavel would
soon rack up a string of crimes and
police had actually just caught a very
dangerous individual
Pavel lived very close to where Libby
was last seen and the fields from where
the screams had come from
after taking his prince in a DNA sample
it turned out he was linked to several
other crimes going back almost two years
for a long time Pavel had been breaking
into people's homes peering through
Windows watching couples have sex and
following women on the streets often
exposing himself to them sometimes he
would break into houses steal underwear
and leave used condoms around
one woman woke up one night to find
Pavel staring at her through the glass
of her bedroom door
she texted her housemates who chased him
out and tried to get a photo but it just
wasn't clear enough another time he did
this it was actually on the same streets
that Libby lived on although
fingerprints were often lifted and DNA
was taken from the houses Pavel had no
criminal record and a match to him was
never made but now there was and a lot
of matches to say the least
according to sources it was fairly
obvious that Pavel was a sexual deviant
from an early age and by his own
admission he was unable to control his
urges and had an addiction to hardcore
and violent pornography
he would often tell his wife he was
going for an evening run but instead he
would prowl the streets looking for open
Windows to look in or climb through or
women walking alone so he could follow
them and expose himself
it had now been seven days since Libby
had gone missing and the police were
conducting a thorough review of their
person of interests house and vehicle
whilst his house turned up nothing
inside his vehicle was a different story
there was dirty underwear sex toys used
condoms photographs of women clearly
taken without their permission and
various items that he had stolen from
houses when he was asked about Libby he
denied having ever seen her in his life
but when the CCTV was put to him he
changed his story saying he had picked
her up that night to help her calling
himself a Good Samaritan and offered to
take her home
he said he drove her to Oak fields and
then drove off he then went back to his
house where he had a bath and watched
pornography on his phone
it wasn't quite an admission but it was
enough to at least Place him at the
scene and given What the residents had
said about the screams they knew there
was far more to this story
detectives said they felt this was
probably no longer a missing person's
case and that Libby had been met with harm
harm
they had enough to formally charge Pavel
with 13 sexual offenses from various
points in time but they were told there
still wasn't enough to link him directly
seven weeks after Libby had gone missing
the case would take a huge shift a
fisherman in the Humber estuary found a
badly decomposing body floating in the
water around the neck was a little
necklace with the letter L on it [Music]
after seven weeks Libby's family were
told yesterday that her body had been
found in the Humber Estuary tonight they
got the news they'd been dreading as
police confirmed it was Libby's body a
post-mortem examination that began this
afternoon continues tonight as police
try to establish what caused Libby's
death they say this is a hugely
distressing time for her family and a
very difficult time for all those who've
been involved in the investigation over
the last seven weeks
the University of Hull has released a
statement saying our hearts go out to
Libby's family and friends at this
incredibly difficult time and we will
continue to give them our full support
a 24 year old man arrested in connection
with Libby's disappearance remains under
investigation at the place where she was
last seen tonight people have already
testing confirmed that Libby had been
raped before being killed her body was
so severely decomposed that it was not
possible to determine a cause of death
and it was unconfirmed whether she was
already dead when she went into the
water or not the pathologist said she
could have died from asphyxiation or
drowning but could not be certain but
police felt confident that her body had
been pushed into the river hole behind
the fields and she had floated out into
the river Humber
everyone was devastated and Lisa was
even more upset when she found out where
her daughter's body had been found Libby
had a huge fear of water and wasn't a
strong swimmer wondering whether she was
alive or not when she went into the
river only added to the Heartbreak Lisa said
as word started to spread that this was
now a murder inquiry Lisa posted to
Facebook and said I cannot thank you
enough my darling pie for making me a
mummy for choosing me to be your mummy I
kept you safe for as long as I could and
I am so sorry I could not keep you safe
on that night
[Music]
it was now August 2019 seven long months
since Libby had first Gone Missing Pavel
was now due in court to face the other
charges which he was pleading not guilty
to however he changed his plea last
minute and entered a plea of guilty to
nine counts in total four counts of
voyeurism two counts of outraging public
decency and three counts of burglary
between 2017 and 2019 he was sentenced
to eight and a half years but this was
reduced to just under six after a
successful appeal authorities were
thankful he was now locked up and they
continued their investigations into him
without fear of him fleeing the country
all they could do was continue to build
their case against Pavel looking through
quite literally thousands of hours of
footage to further solidify his
movements on the night that Libby had
got into his car [Music]
[Music]
morphett had showed him driving back out
to the same location at about 2 30 in
the morning just two hours after he was
initially there with her he stayed for a
few minutes before heading back into
town which is when he exposed himself to
the women on the streets this was the
final piece they needed Pavel would have
no reason to go back there unless he was
concealing things and covering up evidence
evidence
more tests also came back after months
of waiting these showed that pavel's DNA
was on and inside Libby's body
Pavel then changed his story he said
that Libby had essentially thrown
herself at him and the pair had had
consensual sex in the fields before he
left her there but it was clear that
this was not the truth and detectives
now had enough to again put forward
their case hoping to be allowed to file
charges for rape and murder
while they waited in October 2019 almost
just two weeks after this the police
made the announcement that they had been
hoping to make for so long and won the
public had been waiting for
after Consulting with prosecutors Pavel
relovich was charged with the rape and
murder of Libby Squire as he was read
the charges in the police car via a
translator he started to laugh appearing
completely unfazed his own mother said I
know in my heart that Pavel did not do
anything to this girl he is a good boy
he respects women she added however that
her heart was breaking for The Squire
family and said that if it turned out
her son had done something he should be
Pavel plea did not guilty maintaining
his story of it being a casual
consensual hookup and the trial after
many delays due to the pandemic finally
began in January of 2021
the prosecution put forward a damning
case Pavel was a highly dangerous
predator whose crimes had escalated to
such a degree that he was willing to do
anything to fulfill his sexual perversions
perversions
he saw women as objects and got a thrill
out of frightening them from the second
he saw Libby that night alone cold upset
and vulnerable she she was his targets
and he knew instantly what he was going
to do the second she got into his car
they said if it wasn't Libby it would
have been someone else sober or
intoxicated on that day or another he
was intent on raping and most likely
killing someone and it just so happened
to be Libby on that fateful night
but the defense were focused on the less
than 10 minute window he would have had
to commit the crime
if his car pulled into the fields at 12
11 and the screams were heard at 12 14
and then he was back out and driving by
20 past 12. it left a less than 10
minute window for all of this to happen
in but the prosecution said it was
absolutely possible given the fact that
Libby was probably unable to fight back
and steady on her feet and Pavel was
incredibly fit and determined in that
moment to do what he ultimately did
prosecutors also said they didn't have
to prove that he had done absolutely
everything in that small window either
the DNA evidence and the CCTV spoke for
itself given the fact he returned to the
scene two hours later anyway this was
the time he could have easily cleaned up
the evidence and moved Libby's body
prosecutors said that it was clear he
was always looking for more to push
things further and when breaking into
homes and watching women was no longer
fulfilling it would only be a matter of
time before he took it further still to
satisfy his urges and the reason he was
getting more Brazen with his crimes was
because he could he was getting away
with it time and time again
after a difficult trial lasting two
breaking news on the Libby Squire murder
trial and parvo relevich has been found
guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of
raping and murdering the hull University
student Libby Squires guys Katarina
vertotsi is live outside Sheffield Crown
Court for us yes just in the last few
minutes the jury which has been
deliberating for five days now coming
back with guilty verdicts for both
counts of murder and rape but relovich
and his defense team throughout saying
that although he did admit to having sex
with the University student he said that
was consensual but a jury now deciding
that in fact it was rape and that he
he was found guilty by an 11 to 1 majority
majority
he was later jailed for life with a
minimum term of 27 years
upon sentencing him the judge said that
Libby did not stand a chance that night
and said that Pavel may never be
released and if he is he will be
monitored for the rest of his days
he called the whole case unimaginatively
harrowing if he is successful in his
parole applications he will be in his
but firstly we would like to thank
everybody for their love and support
over the last two years we've both
really appreciated it our special thanks
go out to the police teams and the other
agencies that were involved with Libby's
case from the outset through to today
as a family today's verdict changes
nothing for us there is no closure we
don't get to have Libby back and our
lives don't revert back to normal
however we are pleased that all the hard
work and dedication of the police and
legal teams has been recognized
Libby will always be with us and we are
all so proud of our beautiful caring
wonderful girl
and although she has been physically
taken from us the members we have and
the love we share will never be taken
after his conviction his wife separated
from him and moved back to Poland she
maintains to this day that their
relationship was nothing but good and
she was horrified when everything came
Lisa remains committed to campaigning to
change the laws around non-contact sex
offenses asking for harsher sentences
police joined forces with the Squire
family with a campaign that urged people
to report what is considered low-level
sex offenses
Lisa even had a meeting with the then
prime minister Boris Johnson where she
argued that whole life tariffs should be
automatic for anyone convicted of murder
she said that Boris Johnson told her
there aren't the prison spaces
Lisa responded will then build more
prisons it's as simple as that anyone
who goes out and takes a life should be
given a whole life tariff end of in 27
years Libby doesn't come back I don't
get my daughter back my children don't
get to have their sister back we have a
whole life sentence to live
in 2022 Lisa said she wanted to meet
with Pavel in prison to talk about what
had happened that night
Pavel agreed
a lot of people don't understand this I
don't hate him I'm not angry with him I
just want information from him I don't
wish to forgive him I don't wish to
understand why he did what he did for me
it's very much about finding out how she
was in those last 20 minutes of her life
it's actually quite a brave thing for
him to do to agree to see me in the
first place is a big thing and I am
grateful nothing he can tell me can be
worse than what goes on in my
imagination Lisa said
but in February 2023 Pavel retracted the
agreement saying he felt that he had
been portrayed as a bad person in the
media because of the Squire family and
as a result he no longer wanted to talk
to Lisa
Felisa who quite frankly had shown
nothing but Grace towards him it was a
huge blow and clearly his way of keeping
some elements of control until the end
Libby's family have continued to show an
unwavering level of decorum and strength
channeling all their energy and efforts
into hopefully making changes to the
laws and keep Libby's memory alive Lisa
said every morning in that lull between
sleep and waking up I still think life
is normal then I wake up and remember
Libby is gone
sometimes the grief takes me by surprise
looking at pictures of Libby that I've
looked at a million times in tears
thinking why has someone taken this
[Music]
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