5:00pm Thursday 19th November 2009
By Emily-Ann Elliott
The mother of a murder victim said she lived a “triumphant” life.
Speaking at a memorial service for Andrea Joanna Waddell, her mother Sonia said: “Our beautiful, gorgeous Andrea had troubles in her life but she overcame them. She had a triumphant life.”
Ms Waddell, 29, was found strangled in her flat in Upper Lewes Road, Brighton, after a fire last month.
During a service to celebrate her life at The Unitarian Church in Brighton yesterday, Ms Waddell’s brother Nick said his sister was passionate about caring for the environment, animal rights and people in need.
He said: “I hope that some of Andrea’s passion for life and her commitment to improving the world rubs off on me.
“I feel inspired, as I think we all should, to leave this church today with a fiery passion for justice in our hearts.”
He added: “Andrea had been through her own metamorphosis, like a caterpillar that become a dazzling, but slightly fragile, butterfly.”
Following her death Ms Waddell’s family revealed that she was born Alexander John but underwent gender surgery while studying for a master’s degree in social and political thought at the University of Sussex.
She also suffered a number of health problems including being diagnosed with scoliosis (severe spinal curvature) at 14 and then developing fibromyalgia, a permanent condition of chronic pain.
At the time of her death Ms Waddell had been working as a prostitute.
Neil McMillan, a 41-year-old satellite installer, of Bennett Road, Brighton, has been charged with murder and arson with intent to endanger life.
He is due to appear at Lewes Crown Court on January 8.
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