‘Our hearts are breaking’

Mervyn and Dorothy Reynolds said the warmth of the tributes paid to their daughter Philippa since her death at the weekend has given them strength and also filled them with pride.

Constable Reynolds, 27, whose funeral took place yesterday, was a back seat passenger in the unmarked police car that was struck by a jeep in the early hours of Saturday morning. Two men have been charged in connection with her death.

Her parents were on holiday in America when they found out about the fatal crash.

Back at the family home in Crumlin on the outskirts of Belfast with their other daughters Debra and Nicola, and with Constable Reynolds’ body having been returned to them, the couple spoke of their devastation.

“We may appear strong today, but believe it we are not and our hearts are breaking,” said Mrs Reynolds.

“But we have Philippa here at home with us for the minute, but she will be buried and she’ll be gone.

“Like many other people who have lost loved ones they will know how we feel - we are devastated, we are devastated. We can’t believe it, really we still haven’t taken it in, we just really cannot believe it.”

Mrs Reynolds said the reaction of her daughter’s police colleagues had overwhelmed them.

“That’s possibly the biggest thing that I can’t take onboard in all that has happened - how much they love her,” she said.

“And I am so proud of her, and it’s just lovely. It’s just lovely because she’s my wee girl and our wee girl.”

Mr Reynolds said his daughter’s infectious smile would always stay with him.

He also recalled the awful moments when, in the middle of the night in Las Vegas, he received the terrible call from his daughter Debra, just hours before they were set to start their journey home.

“At 1.50am or thereabouts my mobile phone rang and I looked at it - private number - and I went ‘ignore’ because I thought it was some cold caller. I was thinking back, add on eight hours and it’s UK time, somebody is trying to sell me a time-share or something.

“I got two calls and then Dorothy’s phone rang - it was all private numbers.

“It was only when Debra’s name came up that I answered the phone. I was speaking, Dorothy was half asleep but the conversation was Debra says ‘Philippa’s dead’ and I goes, disbelief, I could not believe it.

“But she said: ‘Really, I didn’t want to tell you so soon, but we didn’t want you finding out on Facebook when you are travelling home’.

“In no stage in my part of the conversation did I say anything about Philippa’s death, it was all just ‘No, it can’t happen’, so when the conversation ended I then went over beside Dorothy and said ‘We have one less daughter’.”

Mrs Reynolds described her reaction.

“I just didn’t take it in at first, I didn’t really, I just could not believe it,” she said.

“Because of my faith I had to ring a friend and immediately get her to pray, which I knew would help, which is what she did and that (prayer) has been carrying us since.”

Constable Reynolds originally trained as a teacher and had taught for a period at Kilkeel High School in Co Down before joining the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) two years ago.

The keen hockey player was posted to Londonderry - a city that bore more than its share of violence during the Troubles and where, during the conflict, many nationalists and republicans viewed the police with distrust.

In that context, Mr Reynolds said the cross-community nature of the sympathy messages from the city had touched the family.

“I am amazed how much effect it has had,” he said.

“With social media and things like Facebook, this incident has gone virally worldwide and I am just hoping that there will be some effect within our little country.

“I hear from her senior officers and other people that people are coming in from parts of Derry that would never have walked into a police station before, they are handing in sympathy cards, mass cards, it’s amazing.”