THIS week marked two years since the death of Louise Evans, a Kidderminster mother murdered by her husband.

Louise was found dead at the bottom of the stairs of her Stoney Lane home on July 9, 2012.

After a month-long trial during October and November of last year, the jury at Worcester Crown Court convicted Louise’s childhood sweetheart, Alan Evans, unanimously.

Louise’s mother, Judy Bollen, said she and her husband Derek found it difficult to come to terms with their daughter’s death.

“It’s been a difficult two years,” she said.

“It was hard to come to terms with the way she died and we’ve had to live with it. Sitting through the trial was hard. Hearing all the terrible details made us feel sick.”

To mark the anniversary of Louise’s death, her family and friends were due to gather around her grave yesterday and release balloons into the air as a tribute. A toast to Louise was also raised with her favourite drink, vodka and coke.

During the past two years, her friends and family have hosted a number of events as a remembrance of her life.

In the weeks after the trial verdict, her friends organised a memorial night at Kidderminster Harriers Social Club.

About 200 people attended the evening, which took the form of a school reunion for the class of ‘95 at Wolverley High School, where Louise was once a pupil and met some of her lifelong friends.

During the night, a tribute video, showing pictures of Louise as a young girl and of her life up to her death, was shown to the song The Rose by Bette Midler.

The night also raised about £3,000 to go towards a trust fund for Louise’s children to help her parents, who care for her daughters, with their upbringing.

Her friends have also organised discos and taken part in races to raise money for the children’s trust fund.

Mrs Bollen said she was thankful for the support of friends, family and neighbours over the past two years.

“It is important to us to thank everybody for the support they have given to me and to Derek,” she said. “If we didn’t have the support of people carrying us along we wouldn’t have coped.

“We are grateful for everyone’s help, especially those who take the girls away for the weekends.

“We’d also like to thank Kemp Hospice for the help the girls have received.”

Louise’s parents hope her memory will live on.

Mrs Bollen said: “We lived through one of the most horrendous trials but we have to move forward, as we have three beautiful little girls to look after.

She added: “For the sake of the girls, Louise cannot be forgotten.”