Tears of attack victim's bride-to-be

WITH her world in ruins and tears welling in her eyes, Danny O'Connor's fiancée today spoke of her loving "angel" who died after an Ipswich street attack.

Danny's childhood sweetheart Susannah Wejszko had only accepted his marriage proposal just a few days before he sustained his fatal injuries.

Now the 22-year-old says she doesn't know how she will go on without him.

Danny, 23, died in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge on May 12. He had been on a life support machine since being involved in a fight in Silent Street, Ipswich on May 2.

Just three weeks ago, romantic Danny bought Susannah roses and champagne before getting on one knee and proposing to her.

They thought they had the rest of their lives together but Susannah is now faced with starting her life again.

"We were building a future with each other, we were going to be married next year, he was my life. I was over the moon when he proposed, we wanted to be together forever and now he has been taken away from me.

"He used to point out old couples in the street and say that one day we would be just like them.

"I have not just lost my fiancé, I have lost my best friend."

Susannah lived with Danny at his flat on the Provost Estate in Hackney, London, but since his death she has been unable to return there and has spent time with family, including her aunt and uncle Alfie and Christine Hollick who live on Wherstead Road, Ipswich.

An aspiring young businessman, Danny was building his own business as a floor layer – having learned the trade from his father.

"He was someone who was going somewhere, he didn't just say things, he did them.

"He always had ideas, he was very positive, he wanted to do things.

"He wanted to make his mum and dad proud."

Despite desperate efforts to save him, Danny died in hospital at 1am on May 12.

On May 11, the couple should have been celebrating their six-year anniversary.

Susannah received a 6am call to tell her Danny was in hospital and she made the first of many daily trips to visit him, never losing hope he would recover.

"He was just lying there with a big scar on his head, there was tubes and machines. I started talking to him and holding his hand, telling him everything would be alright, but it wasn't."

At one stage Danny's condition appeared to improve, but the situation soon worsened.

"As the days went by he stopped looking like Danny, it wasn't him laying there anymore.

"He was never a cold person, he used to keep me warm, but he was cold there and I wanted to get on the bed and give him a cuddle to warm him up.

"I kept waiting for him to tell me to shut up, everyday I kept talking to him and telling him I loved him."

On the day Danny died, Susannah received a frantic call from his family saying she had to come to the hospital straight away.

"When I arrived the family were there and the doctors were all around him, I knew it was bad. We waited and waited and they came out and said he had died.

"I went to see him and I said to him that he's gone to a better place because he is an angel and he has gone to join the rest of them.

"I gave him a cuddle and kiss and said goodbye to him. I didn't want to leave him there. I feel cold and empty now.

"I want to be with him, the other day I wanted to take some pills and go to join him, but he would be disappointed in me so I have to be strong and prove to him I can do well in life."

Dulu Miah, 23, of Spring Road, Ipswich was remanded in custody at East Suffolk Magistrates Court yesterday, charged with the murder of Daniel O'Connor.

He is due to appear at Ipswich Crown Court on May 20.

A 19-year-old Ipswich man has also been arrested in connection with the incident.