31 May 2013
In an exclusive interview on S4C, some of April Jones' closest relatives speak for the first time about the loss of the five year old girl from Machynlleth.
In the special programme Byw heb April: Y Byd ar Bedwar (Living Without April) on Sunday 2 June at 8.00pm (English subtitles available), April's grandparents, Dai and Linda Smith of New Quay, Ceredigion, will speak about the loss of their granddaughter. They will recall the night April went missing, discuss the fate of Mark Bridger and talk about how they're coping with life without April.
"It's hard. You go out and people ask you questions and it's difficult to know what to say. We miss her every day. Think about her every day. Talk about her every day. She'll always be in our lives… in our minds," says Dai Smith, step-father of Paul Jones, April's father.
"I think when a child dies in an accident it's a terrible thing, but I think this is worse – the fact that we don't have her body. I don't think anyone will ever know for sure what happened to her – only him."
At Mold Crown Court on Thursday, 30 May, nine moths after April Jones went missing, Mark Bridger, 47 of Ceinws near Machynlleth, was found guilty of the abduction and murder of the five year old, and for perverting the course of justice.
Bridger was sentenced to life imprisonment, a rare sentence given to only the worst offenders, but this punishment will never be enough, in Dai Smith's eyes.
He says: "Jail is too good for them. I think they should bring back hanging or the injection or something like that. But I think they should suffer first… like she had to suffer."
His wife Linda agrees that no punishment will ever make right the loss of their granddaughter, and that the family will never get over what happened. She says: "There's no justice they can give him that will ever bring April back, there's nothing they can do that will ever compensate for taking her life away.
"I don't think we'll ever really come to terms with it. It's like a dream, really - it's not real… But it is real, obviously."
Byw heb April is produced by the ITV Wales team responsible for S4C's current affairs series Y Byd ar Bedwar.
S4C is available in Wales and throughout the UK. In Wales: Sky 104; Freeview 4; Freesat 104; Virgin TV 166. In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland: Sky 134; Freesat 120; Virgin TV 166.
Also broadcast on the online service Clic – s4c.co.uk/clic – and available to watch on demand for 35 days following first broadcast. English subtitles are available for both TV and online broadcasts
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