The sister of a man who was murdered by his partner is encouraging other men to speak out about domestic abuse in the home.
Sandra Lewis, whose brother Jonathan Gibbons was stabbed to death shortly after his 50th birthday by Joanne Moran, 43, has spoken for the first time of her grief.
The mother-of-two, 54, from Liverpool revealed she was always very protective of her younger brother, who was four years her junior.
Following his death she has reflected on how his abusive partner ‘manipulated’ him and added it will ‘haunt her forever’ that she could not save Jonathan from his killer.
She said: ‘I could never have imagined she would end his life. I miss him so much.’
Jonathan Gibbons, 50, was stabbed to death by his partner Joanne Moran on 30 October last year. Now his sister Sandra is speaking out to raise awareness of male victims of domestic violence
Sandra, a security officer, recalled of her brother: ‘John was lovely, he was gentle, funny and kind. He would never have hit anyone. That just wasn’t his way.
‘We had a wonderful childhood; I was a tomboy and we’d be out climbing trees and falling in the stream.’
The close siblings lived nearby all their lives, even after they each got married and had families of their own.
While Sandra had two daughters, Jonathan had a son called Jay, who is now 26 years old.
When Jonathan’s marriage broke down, he started seeing Joanne Moran, who had been a friend of Sandra’s daughter.
Sandra Lewis, 54 (pictured), from Liverpool, has revealed she is ‘haunted’ by the fact she could not save her brother
Joanne Moran, 43 (pictured), was found guilty of murdering Jonathan Gibbons and has been sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 17 years
‘He and Joanne got together in 2016, she was a friend of my daughter’s, but I didn’t know her well,’ Sandra recalled.
‘At first, I was pleased for him. He was very hurt when his marriage ended, and I hoped Joanne would make him happy.’
However a few months into the relationship, Jonathan arrived at Sandra’s house with scratches on his face and neck.
She recalled: ‘I was horrified when he told me Joanne had attacked him. I pleaded with him not to go back but he said she was sorry, and he wanted to give her another chance.
‘I confronted Joanne myself and she promised me it would never happen again. She told me she was jealous of John’s ex-wife, who he was still in contact with, because they had a child.
‘I felt helpless; all I could do was keep an eye on John. I knew he was soft-hearted, and I worried about him.’
Before long, Jonathan quit his job at the biscuit factory, which rung alarm bells for Sandra as she had always known her brother to be a hard worker.
‘I think he maybe was trying to hide his bruises from his work-mates. Or perhaps Joanne didn’t want him mixing with other women,’ she said.
‘Looking back, I can see she was very jealous and controlling. She also drank more than I realised.’
Every time Sandra visited Jonathan, she had to check with Joanne first. When she did visit, Joanne didn’t let Jonathan get a word in without interruption and she also talked down to her partner.
Sandra (pictured) said she had always been incredibly close to her brother Jonathan and the pair had always lived near to each other
A childhood photo shows Sandra (pictured far left in the front row) with friends and her mother (back row, second from left) with Jonathan on her knee
Although she had been concerned at one time, Sandra said there were no more marks on Jonathan’s face or hands, so she thought Joanne had ‘calmed down’.
In October 2022, Jonathan celebrated his 50th birthday. Sandra sent him money and visited her brother to give him a set of whiskey miniatures.
She said: ‘Joanne was there, of course. John told me he’d bought clothes with the money, but I didn’t see any new clothes. Looking back, I think he probably never got the money. I think Joanne spent the lot on booze.
‘Jon didn’t seem himself at all. he was very flat, and the light had gone out of his eyes. I kept asking if he was OK and he insisted he was. I didn’t want to push it, in case I got him in trouble with Joanne.’
In the two weeks afterwards, Sandra called and texted John, asking him to meet up. But he did not reply.
On October 30, officers came to her home to say John had been stabbed by his partner. She raced to hospital, where he was on life support.
Sandra said: ‘I was devastated. I sat all night, begging him to pull through. But he had been stabbed through the heart and the doctors said there was nothing they could do. His life support was switched off later that day.
‘The police told me not to touch him, but I sneaked a kiss on his forehead. I was absolutely heartbroken. I had protected him all his life and couldn’t help feeling I could have saved him somehow.’
Joanne Moran appeared before Liverpool Crown Court last month and was found guilty of murder.
The court heard Jonathan was knifed in the heart at the couple’s home in Litherland, Merseyside, in the early hours of October 30 last year.
Moran told the court she can ‘sometimes be a cow’ but maintained she did not remember stabbing her partner with a kitchen knife.
The killer showed no emotion as the jury’s verdict was delivered after two hours and 53 minutes of deliberations. Moran, 43, was handed a life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years.
At Jonathan’s funeral, his favourite songs were played including Dignity, by Deacon Blue and ACDC’s Highway To Hell. Sandra read out his eulogy.
She said: ‘I am speaking out to persuade other men – and women – to stand up against domestic abuse. If John had told us about the violence, we could have helped him and he would still be alive today.’
DailyMail
