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I'll run marathon to keep memory of Tom alive
Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter26 Mar 2008
The fiancée of a City lawyer murdered outside his home has told of her determination to keep his memory alive by running the London Marathon.
Adele Eastman says the need to tackle gang violence in the capital has prompted her to attempt the challenge for the first time.
Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, was stabbed to death by two teenagers who stole his mobile phone and Oyster card.
The killing of the Cambridge graduate outside his flat in Kensal Green in January 2006 shocked the nation.
A charity launched by Ms Eastman and Mr ap Rhys Pryce's parents, John and Estella, with the help of the Evening Standard has raised more than £1 million in two years.
The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust is currently supporting 10 projects, mainly in London, as well as paying for a bursary to Marlborough College, where the lawyer went to school.
The projects include a boxing academy in Tottenham that helps children who have dropped out of school back into education, and a scheme for refugees at a primary school in Southall.
Writing on fundraising website Justgiving.com, Ms Eastman, 34, said: "We are determined to ensure Tom's death has not been in vain and that as much good as possible comes out of this horrific tragedy.
"I am running the marathon for Tom and also for the children and youths who benefit from his trust for whom, in many cases, it takes great strength and courage to face each day as a result of living in poverty and/or suffering from abuse, neglect, or violence.
"Many are left feeling disaffected, angry and without any sense of hope.
"I believe we each have a responsibility to do whatever we can - no matter how great or small - to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves and to tackle and overcome the escalating serious youth violence in this country.
"I very much hope that through Tom's trust, we can encourage and support many children and youths to reach out for a better life for themselves."
Ms Eastman, a solicitor with law firm Farrer & Co, has already raised almost £15,000 in donations for her marathon run on 13 April and is on course to beat her target of £17,500.
Ms Eastman and Mr ap Rhys Pryce, who worked for law firm Linklaters, were due to marry in the autumn of
2006. He was carrying plans for their wedding in his briefcase when he was attacked.
On her fundraising web page, Ms Eastman has posted a photograph of the couple taken days before the murder.
She wrote: "The photo of Tom and me on this page was taken on New Year's Eve, during the happiest time of our lives. We were engaged and in Italy planning our wedding, which was due to take place in September of the same year.
"Nothing could have prepared me for the sense of loss and devastation which has followed.
"However, an extremely positive focus in my life is the charity which was set up in lasting memory of Tom soon after his death by his parents, Andrew Hughes of Linklaters and myself.
"The objectives of Tom's trust are to provide educational and vocational training opportunities for disadvantaged children and youths who might not otherwise have access to them and to help tackle and prevent the root causes of violent gang culture and violent street crime.
"Tom's trust is already funding a number of worthwhile projects.
However, with an increasing disparity in wealth and opportunity in this country - 27 youths were murdered in London alone in 2007 with several more already this year - and with many of the organisations that are trying to tackle these problemsstruggling for funding, there is an acute and urgent need to provide more help."
Donnel Carty from Kensal Green and Delano Brown from Sudbury - - aged 18 and 17 respectively at the time of the killing - were jailed for life after being tried for murder at the Old Bailey in November 2006.
The pair attacked Mr ap Rhys Pryce after following him home from Kensal Green station and the murder prompted the launch of the Evening Standard's Safer Stations campaign, which led to night security guards at Kensal Green.
• Anybody wishing to support Ms Eastman can donate by visiting www.justgiving.com/adeleeastman or by sending a cheque made payable to "The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust" to: Andrew Hughes, 1 Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8HQ.
Donations can also be made online at www.tomaprhyspryce.com.
