Family, friends and a grieving community will pay tribute to a mother and daughter murdered in Kilmarnock last week.
It's believed that NHS cleaner Emma Robertson Coupland, 39, died after being attacked by her ex-partner Steven Robertson at Crosshouse Hospital on Thursday night.
Twenty minutes later, Emma's daughter, Nicole Anderson, 24, died after being stabbed by Robertson on Portland Street.
And at 8.30pm, Robertson, 40, was found dead after his car crashed into a tree on the C50, between the B7036 and A76 near Ochiltree.
And more than week after the horrific events in the town, a planned balloon release is set to take place this Friday in the Bellfield estate, on the grass next to the bowling club at 6pm.
The memorial event comes as fundraising for the mother and daughter's funeral shot up to £24,000 today.
Sparked by Nicole’s sister-in-law Allana King, she said the fundraising bid will help Emma’s three kids to pay for the funerals.
Allana – whose sister Vicky King was engaged to Nicole – said the whole family were heartbroken by their deaths.
She wrote on the fundraising page: “As you will all have read in the papers and the news, we tragically lost Emma and Nicole over the weekend leaving three young girls without a mum and sister.
“This is also left the three girls to pay for not only one funeral but two.
“I have decided to set up a gofundme page to help try and ease the financial stress of worrying about paying for their funerals, even if it’s just a pound each every little helps.
“Everyone is absolutely devastated and heartbroken over their deaths, they were the most funny, loving, bubbly people I have ever known and never had a day where they weren’t smiling.”
Police announced yesterday that the three bodies from the incident had been formally identified.
Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain, Ayrshire divisional commander, said: “The investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths, which are linked, are ongoing. We are not looking for anyone else as part of the inquiry.
“The local community has been very supportive of our enquiries so far but we are still appealing for information, especially dash-cam or mobile phone footage, from the car park at University Hospital Crosshouse between 7.30pm and 8pm on the Thursday night.
“We’re also eager for anyone who may have been in the Portland Street area between 7.45pm and 8.15pm, and anyone travelling on the A76 between the Bellfield Interchange and Ochiltree between 7.50pm and 8.45pm, to get in touch.”
●To contribute towards the fundraising page, visit here.
