Jo Yeates’ boyfriend tells of heartbreak at Christmas
One year on... Greg Reardon gives moving interview
THE grieving boyfriend of murdered Jo Yeates has revealed his enduring pain as he prepares for Christmas without her.
Greg Reardon, 28, said: “We were very happy and in love.”
Architect Greg — giving his first interview since 25-year-old Jo’s body was found last Christmas Day — also told of his nightmare after she vanished from their Bristol flat.
He is now raising money for charity Missing People. Vincent Tabak is serving life for Jo’s murder.
Greg has told for the first time how he hoped to marry Jo — before she was cruelly snatched from him by the warped killer.
Greg said likeable landscape architect Jo charmed all who knew her.
And he added: “My mum and dad were very proud of me for finding such a nice girl.
“We were getting to the point where we were settling into life as a couple.
“We had lived together for over a year and got a pet cat together.
“We were very happy and in love. I think it’s highly likely the relationship would have developed into marriage.”
The couple’s dreams were dashed on December 17 last year when Jo was strangled by neighbour Tabak as he tried to molest her.
Her body was found in a snow-covered lane last Christmas Day — and architect Greg must now face another festive season without his lost love.
Greg left the pair’s Bristol flat hours before Jo was murdered to visit his 33-year-old brother Francis in Sheffield. He told The Sun how he:
WENT “a little numb” when he realised she was missing after he returned.
FEARED the worst from the moment police started to search for her, and
ENDURED a “bloody nightmare” as he faced perverted Dutch engineer Tabak during his trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Greg, who makes poignant visits to Jo’s grave, met her in 2008 after both started working for the BDP architecture firm in Bristol.
They grew close as they worked on an eco-housing scheme, with Greg designing the houses and Jo the landscaping. And a “bit of a date” at a local pub soon developed into romance. Greg said:
Jo’s greatest characteristic was that she was instantly likeable and easy-going. She just made everyone feel at ease around her.
She was modest and very conscientious with her work as well as being a talented designer.
Jo was very rarely in an unhappy mood and was very good at shrugging things off and getting on with life. She was a bit of a hippy at heart. She loved the outdoors and had a very laid-back “go with the flow” attitude. But if she truly believed in or disapproved of something, she would make sure her voice was heard.
She had just finished her postgraduate diploma with a distinction and was preparing to start working towards her chartered status. She didn’t really have long-term plans. But after we were both chartered we talked about maybe taking an opportunity to work abroad.
It was more about taking things one step at a time and seeing where life took us than having a “five-year plan” or whatever.
Jo was always very interested in working outdoors and talked about her wish to one day have her own landscape architecture firm focusing on smaller projects and being very hands on.
The thought of proposing had crossed my mind although it was probably some
time off.
Greg told how he and Jo were planning to spend last Christmas with her parents David and Theresa in Hampshire.
He said: “We all had a great relationship. We had met each other’s parents on many occasions and got on very well.
“After Christmas we were going to join up with one of Jo’s best friends and head up to Edinburgh for Hogmanay. The train and hotel were already booked.”
Tragically, it was a journey Jo never made.
Greg said he was not worried about her when he left for Sheffield because she was “perfectly capable of looking after herself”. He added: “She assured me she’d make plans and not be bored. I just thought, ‘It’s only one weekend, everything will be fine.’ ”
Greg did not immediately think anything was amiss when he returned to find Jo not at home.
He said: “I thought she had made plans to go out during the weekend and not told me.
“I had a certain level of anxiety as I had not been in contact with her all weekend.
“But I thought there would be a perfectly good explanation and she would be back soon. So I sat and relaxed in front of the TV and waited for her. As the evening went on I rang her mobile again and faintly heard it ringing in her coat pocket.
“It was then I felt panicked. I started pacing round the flat trying to find out what was going on, trying to justify the situation and keep myself calm.
“I went through her rucksack, that was packed full and sitting on the table, and found her glasses, purse and keys.
“I just went a little numb. It was a horrible realisation that something was seriously wrong.”
Greg told how he immediately launched himself into helping police to search for Jo. He spread word of her disappearance across social network websites and gave as much information as he could to officers.
He also went to the home of Jo’s anguished parents so they could give each other mutual comfort.
He said: “When I found out she had not been admitted to any hospital, or been picked up by the police, or returned to work on the Monday morning I could only fear the worst.
“I knew she would not just run away. At the first police press conference on the Tuesday, when I saw all the cameras I just thought, ‘I’ve seen this type of story before. I know how it’s going to end.’ ” Greg admitted that with hindsight, he regretted he had not been there to protect Jo from Tabak, who liked to view violent pornography of women being bound and throttled.
But they had never properly met the neighbour beyond polite greetings in passing — and he had no reason to believe Jo was in danger.
Greg said: “I curse the probability of the situation more than anything. Why couldn’t we win the lottery instead? It’s probably just as feasible as
getting murdered by your next-door neighbour.
“I always had a hunch the killer was an opportunist attacker. It just turned out he lived next door.” The boyfriend told of a “massive release of emotion” when Jo’s body was discovered. He said: “The days afterwards were just terrible.”
Tabak’s decision to plead not guilty to murder heaped more agony on Greg, Jo’s parents and her brother Chris.
Greg said: “The trial was a bloody nightmare, but we all had to grit our teeth and ride it through. It was surreal facing Tabak in court. I just had to keep calm and get through it.”
Greg said the “hardest part” was listening to twisted Tabak’s defence. The killer claimed Jo had invited him in and he choked her accidentally while trying to silence her screams after attempting to kiss her.
The boyfriend added: “He must have had bottled-up perverse urges that finally exploded in a day of utter inhuman madness.
“After the trial was over I felt a big release of tension but it just left me a little numb and empty. I was glad of the result, though.”
Greg said Christmas is bound to revive awful memories. And he is planning to go skiing in an attempt to think of other things.
He said: “I’m not sure specifically what I’ll do to remember Jo in the future but I’m certainly not going to forget her.
“I’ve visited her grave and will continue to do so. We are in the process of organising a proper headstone and it will be nice to see that in place.
“I’ll continue to support charities that helped us and that Jo was passionate about but there’s nothing in the pipeline as yet.”
Greg, who returned to work just a week after Jo was found to help him cope with his grief, intends to stay in Bristol and has bought a small flat in the city centre.
He said: “Now the trial is over I’m ready to start afresh and get on with my life.”
However, he was keen to thank those who helped him recover in the aftermath of the darkest moment of his life.
He particularly named Jo’s friends Emma Brooks and Becky Scott, plus Nick Brooke, Nick Cronk, Meg Pardoe, Mark Henninger and Pete Gryaznevich.
He also heaped praise on the charities Victim Support and Missing People and thanked members of the public who sent him messages of condolence and support.
He said: “Having such a great network of friends really helped me through it.
I’d advise anyone in the same situation to just ask for help. There will always be people there when you really need them.”
GREG Reardon received no payment for this interview.