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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Paul McAuley

Teenager beaten to death at house party 'leaves legacy 15 years on'

Michael Causer’s legacy is being kept alive 15 years after his tragic murder.

In August 2008, the 18-year-old was beaten to death at a house party. Michael was punched and kicked while he slept before his bleeding body was carried outside and dumped in the street.

He was repeatedly hit with a hardback book thrown at his head during the fatal assault at a house party in Biglands Road, Huyton and as a result he suffered numerous facial fractures and swelling to the brain following the attack, described by prosecutors as "sustained and brutal."

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It was alleged that those at the scene taunted him with homophobic insults. One man, James O’Connor, of The Brow, Runcorn who was then 20, was handed a life sentence for Michael's killing in 2009.

Now, heading into the new year, it has been announced One Knowsley, the infrastructure body for the third sector in Knowsley and the Michael Causer Foundation, a local charity offering support to young LGBTQIA+, will take over the day-to-day running of the MCF Foundation from 2023 onwards.

Set up in Michael’s honour after his tragic murder in 2008, the Michael Causer Foundation was set up by his parents Marie and Mike, alongside Merseyside’s LGBTQ+ community - in order to provide education, motivation and accommodation for young LGBTQ+ people like their son.

With Michael born in Whiston and a much-loved member of the community, One Knowsley has said it “will utilise its strong connections in the borough and across the region to ensure the foundation’s amazing work carried out since 2010 will continue for decades to come”.

Racheal Jones, chief executive of One Knowsley, said: “This new venture is very much about shining a further spotlight on Michael and the Michael Causer Foundation. With Michael local to Knowsley and a lot of his family still in the borough, I am so proud and incredibly honoured to be flying the flag for the LGBTQIA+ community at Court Hey Park.

“A number of the Michael Causer Foundation’s existing trustees will serve on a sub-committee to support initiatives focused on LGBTQIA+ young people across the Liverpool City Region and we will do all we can to raise as much awareness as possible, through the many schools, groups and communities that we work with and within.”

One Knowsley will now work towards improving funding options for projects aligned to the goals of the foundation, as well as continuing to be a voice against hate crimes and raising key issues across the Liverpool City Region and nationally where appropriate.

The foundation will close as a stand-alone charity and move under the One Knowsley umbrella. However, current Michael Causer Foundation trustees will work with One Knowsley to form a new independent steering group, which “again will help to keep Michael’s legacy alive”, as well as provide a safe haven for young LGBTQIA+ residents in Knowsley and beyond.

Steve Macfarlane, outgoing chair of trustees of the Michael Causer Foundation, added: “In our drive for a sustainable legacy and following our approach to One Knowsley several months ago, it is important that we continue to work with Michael’s family going forward and also vital that we liaise with LCR Pride to maintain a strong family and Michael Causer Foundation presence at Pride.

“Furthermore, to run Michael’s vigil on August 2nd in his memory and recognition of so many other victims of hate crime is hugely significant for us and we have full confidence in One Knowsley as an organisation that cares for its people and its groups, that they will do all they can to continue honouring Michael and the LGBTQIA+ community in every way possible.”

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