A woman has told how her brother changed and became "lost" when he became involved with a new partner who went on to kill him.
Kasey Anderson was repeatedly stabbed by Natalie Bennett, a mum of four who was twice his age, in a "vicious and calculated attack" on March 12 2023. He died in hospital on March 31 - one week before his 25th birthday.
With the second anniversary of Kasey's death approaching, his sister Molly has spoken of how close she was with her sibling and how they were "two peas in a pod" growing up together around their Croxteth estate, Liverpool.
But Molly, 24, said Kasey, who was once the life and soul of the party became reclusive after going out with Bennet. It wouldn't be uncommon for Kasey to go to family parties with black eyes, bruises or scratches up his neck, she said.
"We all knew what was happening and could see the change in him but he could never see it," Molly says. "It felt like we were trying to put the pieces of his puzzle together."
Kasey, the eldest of four children including Molly, Connor and James, was born in 1998 and raised by his dad Graham, step mum Jackie Morrey and aunt Denise. He was a talented footballer, playing for Everton FC during his teenage years, with his picture being displayed on billboards at the club.
"He liked to do anything outdoors," Molly says. "He loved football, he loved fishing, going out to the woods. Our older cousins used to take him fishing and then when he got older, he started to take their children. Their love of fishing went to Kasey and he then passed it on.
"Up until two weeks before his death he would still go fishing and do night sleepovers. He loved animals - we had hamsters, dogs, ferrets growing up. When he was working he was always active. He worked with his best friend Mikey on a landscaping job. Mikey had his own gardening business. He also worked in warehouses. When he was with Natalie he was in and out of jobs."
When he was 18 Kasey's two-year relationship with his childhood sweetheart ended. He soon began a relationship with Bennett. "They got together when he was 19," Molly told the Liverpool Echo. "There were initially rumours in the area that he was getting with her because a lot of people were seeing them out together.
"He was getting drunk with her, we would see them in the street. He enjoyed a night out in town with his mates and liked his festivals but didn't drink on the regular. Before Natalie he was always so clean and fresh. He loved his clothes - he always wore funky outfits. He was always freshly shaved and had fresh hair but when he was with her he looked a mess."
Molly remembers it as a difficult time, with lots of family fights about Kasey's relationship with Bennett. She said Bennett, who was already notorious on their estate, would often be "rotten drunk" and turn up unannounced and let herself into the houses of Kasey's auntie and nan.
Soon Bennett's manipulation took hold of Kasey, with the older woman twisting his family's complaints about her and trying to use it to her advantage. "I think he knew the truth but he wouldn't admit it," says his sister. "When he went with Natalie he disappeared. He was so lost he wouldn't get into a conversation about her.
"But he would never say a bad word about her - he had too much of a kind heart. He had always been the most loving and kind person to his family, but after he got with her he could be nasty." Violent and deceitful Bennett, who had a history of violence and had amassed previous convictions for affray, battery and dishonesty, continued to assault her much younger boyfriend.
"We would see everything," Molly says. "He had that many black eyes from where she attacked him that he started getting a cyst on his eye. We would see scratches and bruises on his neck. When he came to my birthday he had two black eyes. Everyone knew where he had got them from." The violence became so bad that Molly said at one point "she's going to kill him one day, I'm telling you".
On the day of the sickening attack neighbours recalled hearing raised voices coming from Bennett's house on Carr Lane East in Croxteth. Around 45 minutes later their attention was drawn to the sound of banging, with them initially believing someone was trying to kick down the door.
It was actually Kasey, bleeding heavily from a litany of stab and slash wounds, seeking help. Bennett had stabbed Kasey in the heart before attempting to stab his head as he lay gravely injured on his neighbour's front path pleading for help. Kasey called 999 himself and told the handler "he was dying". Bennett continued to spread her lies by claiming he had arrived at her home already injured.
Remembering the day her brother was stabbed, Molly says: "It was the weirdest situation ever. I was just a normal girl who had been out to see a DJ. I had met my friends from Newcastle and was sat in a hotel apartment when I got a message that there were police and ambulances outside Natalie's house.
"I had tried to ring Kasey a few hours before but didn't get a response. I had a sickly feeling in my stomach. I spoke to my auntie who said Kasey had been stabbed. Before he rang the ambulance for himself he rang my auntie and said 'I've been stabbed, I just want to let youse know I love you all'. My life just flipped overnight - my world was spinning."
Kasey was raced to hospital and put in an induced coma following surgery to repair his heart. But every time doctors tried to wake Kasey he suffered seizures and a brain scan showed there was no hope of recovery. He died 35 hours after his life support was switched off.
Bennett was initially accused of section 18 wounding following the attack but when Kasey's died she was charged with his murder. She went on trial in October 2023 and after four hours and 42 minutes of deliberations a jury found her guilty of murder. "Going to court was the biggest shock of my life," explains Molly.
"I went into it completely blindsided. I didn’t have a single clue about what I would have to witness. I was thinking how will I be able to get past this and get back to myself? But for Natalie it was all just a joke. She showed no remorse. What sickens me is she is a mother of four. How can she take another person’s child away from someone? I couldn’t get it. She never showed an ounce of remorse or shed a tear because of what she did. She was supposed to love Kasey but just badmouthed him in court."
During the trial Bennett denied murdering Kasey and instead tried to pin the blame on him, claiming she acted in self defence and he was a drug dealer. But doorbell footage showed Bennett not only failing to help Kasey but aiming further blows towards him. Bennett was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison.
Following her brother's death Molly says she went through every emotion and stage of grief. "But my friends and Kasey's friends have been the best," she says. "The community has done everything for us. I have been in a lot of counselling and therapy. It took me a while to understand that life isn't going to stop for me."
The Anderson family has been supported by the Paul Lavelle Foundation since Kasey's death. The charity was set up in memory of 50-year-old Paul, who was killed by his girlfriend Sarah Lewis in 2017. The foundation now raises awareness of male domestic abuse and supports male survivors and the families of men who have suffered at the hands of their partners.
Molly will run the Liverpool half marathon on March 23 with one of her brother's best friends, Michael Fletcher, to raise money for the Paul Lavelle Foundation. "They gave us so much support after Kasey died," she says. "They raise awareness that you aren't alone. People can speak up more and know the support is out there. I want them to grow more so they can help more people. There should be help out there for every man.
"The thing that keeps me going is to keep Kasey's memory alive. He wouldn't want me soaked up in this pain. She killed him but couldn't kill us all. I want to shine a light on Kasey's story. He was a popular, happy lad. He was just a normal lad from a normal family. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone."
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