The management team at Finsbury Park – where another woman was murdered while walking home three years ago – have paid their respects to Sarah Everard on Instagram.
Iuliana Tudos, 22, was killed while walking through the park on Christmas Eve 2017. Kasim Lewis, who was 32 at the time, is currently serving a life sentence for her murder. In 2019, he admitted killing another woman in north London, Catherine Burke, 55, weeks before Iuliana’s death.
One of north London’s largest green areas, Finsbury Park is an essential leisure space in Islington. On Saturday 13 March, the park posted on Instagram: “We think of Sarah Everard tonight and the Reclaim the Streets movement.
“We also remember Iuliana Tudos in our community who should have been able to walk home safely on Christmas Eve three years ago.”
Sarah Everard’s death has sparked wider discussions around women’s safety in the capital. Reclaim These Streets is an organisation of women who want to “channel the collective grief, outrage and sadness in our community.”
Reclaim These Streets set up a JustGiving page which has raised over £500,000 – surpassing its £320,000 target. The money will be donated to women’s causes across the country.
In a statement on the fundraising page, the group said: “We appreciate the outpouring of support over the past 48 hours, and we are clear that women’s voices will not be silenced, now or ever […] We’re overwhelmed by the generosity and support this fundraiser has received.”
In 2019, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said Islington and Haringey Councils were working “to improve the safety of park users in Finsbury Park […] following the tragic death of luliana Tudos.” This included increasing the size of the park team, installing more lighting and lifting tree canopies to improve vision.
The Mayor added: “The safety of park users remains a priority for the local ward team and the park remains a tasking area for the council funded policing team.”
