A young woman has spoken of her heartbreak after her brother stabbed their grandmother and her dog to death – before turning the knife on himself.
Kia Squires, 25, has suffered unimaginable loss following the deaths of her nan Sandra Squires and brother John Squires in harrowing circumstances earlier this month, the night before Sandra’s birthday.
It is the latest tragedy faced by Kia, who now has little family left after losing her mother when she was a child, and her dad in January this year.
Although Kia will never understand exactly what unfolded, she knows that at around 11pm on August 31, her nan was fatally stabbed in the neck by her brother while in her home in Bright Ridge, Southborough.
Sandra was officially pronounced dead at 12.27am on September 1, on her 83rd birthday.
John, who was also seriously injured, was arrested on suspicion of murder, but died from his injuries on September 3.
The family dog Buster, 12, a lurcher cross Staffordshire bull terrier, was also stabbed during the incident and while Kia says the vets did well trying to save him, he was “so depressed” given his injuries and a decision was made to put him to sleep.
The mum-of-three, who lives in Tunbridge Wells, says she “can never forgive” her brother for taking away “the best nan” but is adamant she will give Sandra the send-off she deserves.
Now, Kia holds onto fond memories of the 83-year-old, who would always be seen out-and-about with her shopping trolley.
She said: “Nothing was going stop that woman, she wasn’t sturdy on her feet, but she still got about.
“She was the best nan. I couldn’t fault her. She always had boxes of chocolate and toys for my children.
“Everybody loved her and the way she carried on after losing her husband.”
At the same time Kia says her nan was “old-school” adding it was “her way or no way”.
Reflecting on the week before the incident, Kia says her brother had recently moved back in with his grandmother.
On the night of her death, Kia says John had returned home and the pair had an argument.
Kia said: “I don’t condone what he has done and the John he turned into is not the John that I’m grieving.
“The John that I’m grieving is the John that I lost many years ago.
“He was great with the children, and he did love them to pieces.”
The morning of Sandra’s death, Kia had seen John, and while he appeared to be angry, she said: “There was no indication he was going to do something like this.”
After calming him down, Kia told John to “look after nan” before leaving for a birthday party.
That evening, Kia had spoken to her nan at around five past nine and had reassured her that if John’s behaviour was making her feel unsafe, she should call the police.
But, this would be the last time she would hear from her grandmother.
At around 10pm, Kia received messages from John telling her he was “sorry”, but she says this type of message was common when he was in a bad state.
After giving him a call, John said he was really sad and asked to be left alone. At 4.30am Kia received a knock at the door for the police informing her of the incident.
Now, as Kia attempts to process the triple tragedy she has faced this year, she is resolved to organising a fitting send-off for her nan who loved flowers.
Originally from Bournemouth, Kia and her younger brother John moved to Kent aged 9 and 10.
Remembering her childhood with John she said: “We were quite close and used to play outside in the cul-de-sac.”
But in 2008, Kia lost her mum, and a decision was made to move to Kent to live with her dad and his parents in Southborough.
Only five years later, Kia was once again faced with grief, as her grandad died of prostate cancer.
In January this year, Kia’s father died from Covid, heart failure and pneumonia after a battle with alcohol addiction.
“My life’s more or less just been death after death,” she said.
“After dad died, nan kind of became grandad and a nan to the children.
“Nan was always there for the children’s school fetes and the school performances, she was always really involved.
“She loved being a great-grandmother more than she loved being a nan.”
But the mother-of-three says the death of her dad sent her 24-year-old brother into a “downward spiral” as he had already been suffering with mental health issues and problems with drugs and alcohol.
Despite trying to encourage John on a better path, Kia was unable to help him and said John found it “harder to cope”.
Talking of his actions, Kia said: “I don’t know if I can ever forgive him, not only has he taken the kids’ great-grandmother, but he’s also taken my nan.
“He’s taken a big part out of my life and my children’s lives – when he did it, he didn’t think about the children.”
As a result of multiple deaths in the family, Kia has had to introduce heaven and death to her children Oliver, 7, Carlena, 5, and Arthur, 1, early on in their lives.
As the next of kin to both Sandra and John, she now faces the challenge of paying for two more funerals, in addition to the existing payments for her father’s funeral in February.
In the hope of giving her grandmother a “lovely funeral” with additional extras she otherwise might not be able to afford, Kia has started a GoFundMe.
The 25-year-old said: “Even though she was taken in a horrible way in her house, we want to give her a good send-off from their because it had been her home for nearly 50 years.
“We want everything to be colourful and beautiful for her because she loved her flowers and was a happy woman.”
At time of writing, £500 has been raised towards a goal of £3,500, with the funeral date set for October 3.
However, as next of kin for her brother too, Kia is also responsible for his funeral arrangements.
Due to the circumstances Kia says she will not be a part of a big celebration of his life, adding: “It’s not fair on my nan.”
“I’m trying to pay-off my dad’s funeral still, now I’ve got my nan’s, and I’ve got to do my brother’s now as well – nobody at the age of 25 should have no parents.”
All the donations raised from the GoFundMe will be paid to Kempster & Sons Funeral Directors in Tunbridge Wells for Sandra Squires funeral.
Kia said: “If it wasn’t for my friends, my children and my partner then I probably wouldn’t be here myself.”
