'It's just constant': Archie Battersbee’s mother receives death threats after noose left on son's grave
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: The mother of Archie Battersbee, who died on August 6, has revealed that she has been receiving death threats and "severe trolling" since May, weeks before the court passed the order of withdrawing Archie’s life support in August.
Hollie Dance said she has been the target of "vile comments and accusations", mainly through social media but the trollers even left a "noose on his grave" and "hanging ropes on the vigil tree". Talking to the PA news agency, Dance said the trolling was "absolutely awful". "The police have been investigating since mid-May so we're hoping a case is building now. They are on it. We've got over 10,000 screenshots of some of the vile comments and accusations,” she said.
ALSO READ
Archie Battersbee DIES after life support is taken off, parents spend last night by his bedside
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ARCHIE BATTERSBEE: Timeline of a family's long and desperate battle
"I've had two death threats," Dance said. "My son's been threatened. It's just constant, every single day." She also revealed that locals filed a complaint to Southend Borough Council after she constructed a gazebo around Archie’s grave on her birthday on Friday, September 23. She said the gazebo was set up just to protect people from rain and did nothing offensive to hurt anyone’s feelings as she already had permission from the family members of other people buried near Archie’s grave.
"The fact they’ve now rung the council, the cemetery, they’ve said we’ve had this gazebo up and we’re partying, we’re playing music, eating, drinking, making it sound really quite bad," she said. "It sounds so bad and it’s not the case. The gazebo, the small gazebo was put up because rain was forecast on my birthday."
"Everybody that’s worried about me at the minute knows where I’m going to be because I’m here obviously daily with Arch. They were just doing something nice, and a few of them have come and sat with me. Asked permission from the people in Archie’s row. There are literally six graves here, asked permission, 'does anybody else mind?', everybody was more than OK with it.
"One of the ladies whose daughter is here as well, she actually came and sat with her Starbucks coffee, that’s the drink they’re referring to. Another lady came over and brought me some chocolates and said ‘my heart goes out to you today Hollie, your birthday, I knew you would be here with Archie, where else would you be’. It’s like I’m not allowed to grieve, whatever I do."
Reacting to the claims, Martin Terry, cabinet member for public protection for Southend Borough Council, said, ‘We understand that people will always grieve in different ways when they lose a loved one. We would remind all families with loved ones in the cemetery of the conditions of when they purchased the plot, and to remind them that the cemetery is a public space that many people use to visit their loved ones, and as such we want to ensure that it remains respectful for all."
Archie died on August 6, when his life support was withdrawn after the court agreed to medical experts’ claims that stopping treatment was in Archie's best interest.
Archie was found in an unconscious state by his mother at their home in April. He had a ligature wrapped around his neck. It is believed Archie was attempting a TikTok challenge. He was being treated at the Royal London Hospital in east London, run by Barts NHS Health Trust, where the doctors declared him brain dead. The parents of the little boy gave their best to save him and fought a long legal fight.