Family and friends of murdered 21-year-old Phoenix Spencer-Horn have raised £22,212 for Glasgow Women’s Aid after completing the 21-mile Edinburgh Kiltwalk in her memory, organisers said on Monday.
About 40 people, including Ms Spencer-Horn’s mother and stepfather, took part in the walk on Sunday as a group calling itself Phe’s Angel Fighters. The money was collected through hundreds of donations and organisers said further pledges were still being added to the total.
Roasted cafe, where Ms Spencer-Horn had worked, posted ahead of the walk: “For the fallen daughter/friend/colleague known as Phe. This is for you kid. All monies raised go to Glasgow Women’s Aid.” Glasgow Women’s Aid thanked the group, saying their “unwavering determination and generosity will make a huge difference in her name.”
Organisers in Ms Spencer-Horn’s hometown of Strathaven also dedicated the recent Strathaven Balloon Festival’s evening glow to her memory. Dozens of her friends and family helped with a bucket collection for Glasgow Women’s Aid at the event.
A local craftsman has created a permanent memorial to Ms Spencer-Horn in the grounds of the Strathaven Hotel, where she was a well-known colleague. The wooden bench bears an inscription that reads: “Phe, the girl with the stunning smile. 21 ‘forever young’ ” and includes the lyric “thunder only happens when it’s raining,” a line from her favourite Fleetwood Mac song.
Ms Spencer-Horn, 21, died after being attacked in a flat she shared in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire. Ewan Methven, 27, was convicted of her murder and jailed at the High Court in Glasgow with a minimum term of 23 years. Court reporting said Methven had earlier complained that her shifts working as a waitress left him feeling “lonely.”
Her mother, Alison Spencer, said the family had been left “shattered” and would remain “broken forever” by the loss. The fundraising and memorial events were described by friends and colleagues as efforts to honour her memory and to support an organisation that assists women affected by domestic abuse and violence.
The Kiltwalk, an annual series of charity walks, includes a 21-mile route in Edinburgh that draws participants raising money for a range of causes. Organisers of the local collections and the national charity said the donations raised in Ms Spencer-Horn’s name will be used to support Glasgow Women’s Aid’s services.
The case and the subsequent community response have drawn attention locally to issues of violence and the networks of support available to families and victims. Those organising tributes said they hoped the fundraising would both help victims' services and serve as a lasting tribute to Ms Spencer-Horn.
The group’s organisers said the fundraising page remains open and encouraged anyone wishing to contribute to do so through Glasgow Women’s Aid’s donation channels.