Alice endured unimaginable tragedy to build a life with younger sister Amy…but the “twisted irony” of one man’s deadly choice uprooted everything.

Inspiring, hard working, beautiful and resilient. These are just some of the words echoing in a small room at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday.

Locked in the courtroom of Courtroom 10, the family and friends of Alice Birchall waited with bated breath to learn how justice would be meted out to her killer Jonathon Hopkinson.

His judge, Tom Bayliss, told Hopkinson he had made reckless and deadly choices before Alice was thrown into his career and into gear on June 18, 2022. He chose to get into a car even though he knew he was over consumption limit. He chose to do this with his daughter as a passenger in the car. He chose to drive at extremely excessive speeds for a considerable distance.

Read more: Jonathon Hopkinson live sentencing updates after causing Alice Birchall’s death in Leeds horror crash

The court has already heard that Hopkinson, 35, drove at 100mph on residential streets with a 30mph limit. It was 8:30 p.m. His selfish actions not only killed Alice, but also left himself and his daughter seriously injured. Eyewitnesses were caused distress and trauma as they pulled the three bodies from the wreckage of the accident he caused.

Alice’s sister Amy described her sister being killed by a drunk driver as a “sick and twisted irony”. The girls overcame both adversity and trauma, having to live through their father’s death and their grieving mother’s spiral into alcoholism – one that included a drink-driving conviction – before she too died.

At the tender ages of only 17 and 20, the girls were left with only each other and their family members. Despite everything she’s been through, Alice has worked hard to build a life for herself – one where she can take care of her little sister. She was so close to fulfilling her dreams of a much-desired career in jewelery design before Hopkinson cruelly ripped her away.

Brave Amy paid tribute to Alice in a statement she bravely read out in court. It illustrated Alice’s personality, her love for her family and friends and theirs for her, shining through.

As she talked about their mother’s drunken driving conviction, Amy recounted how the sisters turned to education for stability. She said: “School was the only time we could see each other… Alice learned to look after herself. Maintained since age 16. At 17 and 20, we lost our mother to alcoholism. We were troubled…

“We lost our only surviving parent and now we knew we only had each other. Only the two of us could understand the pain and trauma we were going through. Anyone else would have given up on the idea of ​​having a good life… Not Alice. She was determined to have a beautiful life.”

Amy talked about how Alice moved into a “beautiful” flat and “decorated it in all the colors she liked”. She said: “Home proud, nothing is out of place. Before work, he would immediately get ready so he could have a cup of tea and a ginger biscuit before he left. She always had to wear her marigold gloves to wash.. .The second I turned 18 I left foster care to live with her.

“Finally, it felt like we were a normal family again. We were together under one roof, like sisters should be. I went to her for everything… She was my guardian. She was my sister she was my best friend.”

Amy told the court the sisters would talk about their future together and Alice’s new job. She said: “The absolute love and pride I have to be able to say that Alice Mary BIrchall was my sister. She has been more than an inspiration to me and others. He was driving home from work after handing in his permit the week before. …”

The court heard that Alice was allowed to leave work 15 minutes early on the day of the accident. Amy said: “If she hadn’t been dropped off earlier, she wouldn’t have been on the road at the time. Just five minutes away from home. The irony is terrible.

“Alice did everything she could to have a happy life. He didn’t let anything about our alcoholic mother ruin his life… The fact that he was a drunk driver – something we lived with from our mother, something we had escaped years before. It is a cruel irony that my sister was killed by a drunk driver. I will never forgive this.

“I had to look at the one person my whole life revolved around and I had to let her go…I’ve never felt more lost.”

The court also heard from Alice’s aunt Deborah Horsfall, who supported Alice and Amy along with her husband Richard. After their mother’s death, Mrs Horsfall said Alice “grew up overnight”. She added: “I was impressed by her resilience. She was a very determined young lady and she understood everything and wanted to see things through…”

She spoke of the home Alice made for her and her sister and said: “They were so happy and could finally be a family…Alice was a strong, independent young woman. She was beautiful inside and out… She had many friends and was a popular young lady, always smiling.

Mrs Horsforth said Amy had lived with her since Alice died and said: “Two years next week. Alice’s senseless death has left a hole in all of our lives. We all miss her positivity. We all miss her beautiful face… .”

Hopkinson was jailed for eight years and made subject to a 12-year driving disqualification, at the end of which he will have to take an extended retest.

Judge Bayliss said: “Mrs Birchall was a much-loved, independent, resilient and determined young woman who, along with her sister, lived through and overcame great personal tragedy and adversity. She was popular, she was devoted to her younger sister… two of them had lost both their parents, the two of them had built a future together… She did everything she could to build a life for herself and her sister “.

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