A mother in Northern Ireland is reaching out to the public to find out what led to the tragic death of her son, a local gay activist.
Terry McCartney, 42, was found dead in his apartment in Derry on February 6. Gay Star News reports McCartney, a well-known LGBT activist and co-organizer of the annual Foyle Pride Festival, had been involved in a fight with several other men just hours before his death. During the melee, he was punched to the ground.
Despite this, police are not treating the death as suspicious.
So Terry’s mum, Margaret McCartney, is asking for any information that could explain his death.
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“I need to know what Terry was doing in the hours before he died,” she told the Derry Daily. “Until I know where he was, what he was doing and who he was with, I can’t settle. All I have at the minute are questions; I need answers.”
This is the second loss the McCartney family has suffered in recent years—a brother of Terry’s died a decade ago.
“I thought it could never happen again and it has,” says his sister Michelle. “I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. I just wish we could get some answers.”
On a tribute page, a friend wrote:
[Terry] was one of the kindest souls i think i have ever met. Terry did a huge amount of work for Foyle Pride and we had some great laughs along the way. Terry was a Gay rights Activist and believed in equal rights for everyone, and in his own way he did what he could to make this happen. I will miss that cheeky smile. I hope your at peace Terry. We will never forget you.
Rest in peace, Terry.
