PC Andrew Harper’s heartbroken widow says she still sleeps with his ashes in her bedroom and ‘can’t love again’
PC ANDREW Harper’s heartbroken widow says she still sleeps with his ashes in her bedroom and doesn't know if she'll ever love again after his brutal death.
Lissie Harper and her husband had planned to start trying for a baby after their honeymoon - but the brave cop was killed just weeks before they set off.
Lissie, 29, and her 28-year-old husband, a Thames Valley Police offer, had been married for just four weeks when he was killed after responding to a late-night burglary in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August last year.
Andrew was killed by three teens in a speeding getaway car, who dragged him for more than a mile when he got caught in a tow strap.
His widow told the how she is desperately trying to cope with her grief by writing poems, thoughts and feelings about Andrew, to help her "heal".
She said he visits her when she's dreaming.
A distraught Lissie added: "I don't know if I'll ever be able to love anyone else again."
Describing him as "one of a kind", she explained that Andrew "is a huge part of me and always will be".
She said that their strong connection would never fade as "everything reminds me of him".
Lissie misses her "funny, kind, clever and compassionate" husband so much that, during the days straight after his death, she would sometimes "wake up and forget just for a moment that Andrew was gone".
And she found it particularly heartbreaking collecting her beloved husband's ashes.
Lissie said: "I've kept his ashes and they're in a wooden box in my bedroom where I can see them."
While having Andrew's ashes nearby brings her some "comfort", her grief is still too deep and too raw to scatter them as yet.
She added: "On days like anniversaries, I still speak to him… I can hear him reassuring me and telling me not to worry, just like he always would."
Her poignant comments come days after Lissie told the that a family is "one of the many things" his killers took away from her - revealing that she and PC Harper planned to have children before he died.
She said she misses "everything about him," including "the hugs, the kisses, him coming in and scooping me up, giving me love.
"It's crippling. We had a honeymoon booked in the Maldives in September, which I had to cancel, and were planning on trying for a baby when we got back.
"Andrew would have been a great dad and having a family with him is one of the many things his killers have taken from me."
I've kept his ashes and they're in a wooden box in my bedroom where I can see them.
Lissie Harper
She opened up further about her anguish in losing her husband and childhood sweetheart, a man she remembers as "funny, goofy, kind-natured and nurturing".
Lissie said: "In killing Andrew - a good, hardworking, honest, loving man - they have taken a life that was so precious and subjected me to a life sentence without him.
"Andrew and I grew up together so, losing him, I feel I’ve lost a whole part of myself."
She wears a heart charm on a gold bracelet engraved with "I Love you Lissie" in his handwriting after his wedding ring was never found.
The pair met and started their lives together as childhood sweethearts and Lissie describes her hero husband as having all the best qualities to become a police officer - joining the force aged 19.
She said: "He was clever and always very proactive and protective, as well as compassionate. He liked to help people.
"He also had a strong sense of right and wrong."
On the night of August 15 last year, The Thames Valley Police officer was dragged to his death while in the process of apprehending a teen gang during a botched robbery near Reading, Berks.
Three teenagers were convicted of manslaughter over his death after the jury deliberated for almost two days.
Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, received 13-year terms but could be out in eight.
Henry Long, 19, was caged for 16 years for driving the car which dragged the newlywed cop to his death.
The heartless teen thugs found guilty of killing Andrew laughed as his horrific injuries were read out to jurors.
The court heard a car driven by Long at "breakneck speed" swung PC Andrew Harper "like a pendulum" along a country lane.
His composed widow has vowed to fight for justice for her husband and push for harsher sentences for the reckless teens who killed him.
She said: "They will be able to get on with their lives — a privilege they have taken away from Andrew."
Lissie said she has "no doubt" that when her husband's killers are released they will go back to a life of committing crimes.
She has had a "positive" chat with the Home Secretary to fight for tougher sentences for those who kill emergency workers.
Grieving Lissie met with Priti Patel on September 2 after launching a campaign to see that all criminals die behind bars if they are convicted of killing a police officer.
She launched her Harper's Law campaign for full-life prison terms for those who kill emergency services workers, including police, fire or emergency medical workers.
Lissie said: "I pledge to my late husband to never stop until I have made the difference that this country clearly needs.
"I vow to stand strong and firm with so many other honourable people in our country to make the changes that we clearly know to be justified."
Her cause is being backed by the Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents thousands of officers up to the rank of chief inspector.
In sentencing, the judge said nothing he did could “restore Andrew Harper to his loving wife or family", adding: "His devastating loss in terrible circumstances will follow his family for ever.”
Describing the killers as "young, unintelligent but professional criminals", he added none of them had "shown anything resembling remorse".
The soft sentences dished out to Long, Bowers and Cole were met with fury by social media users.
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Attorney General Suella Braverman will look into whether the jail time handed down was too lenient after a request to review the case.
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However, she has no power to order a retrial, and prosecutors would either need new and compelling evidence to apply for the acquittals to be quashed, or there would need to be proven interference with the jury.
After meeting with Patel and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Lissie said: "The least we can expect from our justice system is that it ensures criminals who kill those emergency services workers protecting us are given appropriate and substantial prison sentences."
