Schoolboy 'wants everyone to know' about murdered cousin

The family of Ellis Cox have shared a new photograph of the murdered teenager as they continue to plead with for anyone with information to come forward. Ellis, 19, was fatally shot on June 23 this year at the Liver Industrial Estate in Aintree.

In a new tribute, his auntie said: “I don’t know how to put into few words who Ellis was or what he meant to us, but my main message is please help us. We are an ordinary family.

"Ellis was not the type of person that you would ever imagine something like this would happen to because it’s not a world he is from. He had such a pure heart and soul. He was kind, funny, considerate and everything I want my own sons to become.

"My son who is eight idolised him and he wants everyone to know what he means to him. He said himself that ‘Ellis was a very kind boy who always played with me. He loved me and I loved him but now he is not with me. No matter how far away he is I will always carry him in my heart forever’.

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“Please help to protect other families from this by giving any information you have no matter how small or irrelevant you think it may be giving the police the bread crumb they need and let them do the rest.

"It could be a location, route, object, CCTV footage, something you overheard, something that you know didn’t look or sound right. You can do this anonymously nobody would ever need to know. Whoever was capable of this must be capable of dealing with the consequences of their actions. Stop protecting those who don’t deserve it and stand up for what is right and speak up for Ellis.

“We are begging you to help end just one bit of torture for his family, for his mum who is going through the most unimaginable pain and continuous torture of the unanswered questions and continuous fight she is going through to beg for help whilst trying to deal with the everlasting pain we will have to endure and a life without our Ellis.

“Our love for Ellis will never die and there will never be a day, hour, minute or second that we will stop loving him. It’s this love that gets us up out of bed every day. We will get justice for him no matter how long it takes we will never give up it's not an option! We need your help.”

Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, who is the senior investigating officer in the case, said: "Our determination to find the people responsible for Ellis' murder remains as strong as ever and we want to help give his family the justice they deserve.

"There is no room for guns on the streets of Merseyside and we will do everything within our power to ensure those responsible are brought to justice. My message to those involved in gun crime and serious organised crime is clear – Merseyside Police will never rest, we are relentless in our pursuit of those involved.

“Information from the public is vital if we are to breakdown the organised crime groups who bring misery to our streets and I would appeal to anyone who has information about Ellis' murder to come forward.

“I completely understand that speaking up could be daunting, but when people are willing to support the police we will ensure every possible avenue is progressed to protect them."

If you have any information about Ellis' murder, you can visit a dedicated web page to submit information or footage which can help in the investigation. You can also contact police via social media @MerPolCC or call 101 or quoting reference 24000554719, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.