Mums of murdered soldier Lee Rigby and tragic comrade Dean Corbett form touching bond

The mothers of murdered soldier Lee Rigby and tragic comrade Dean Corbett have formed a touching bond.

The two women have sought solace in each other as they face life without their boys, who were best pals in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Dean was a pallbearer at Lee’s funeral after he was murdered by fanatics outside his barracks in Woolwich, south east London, in 2013.

Last year Dean died aged 32 of heart failure brought about by cocaine abuse following a ­struggle with mental health issues.

Lee’s mum Lyn Rigby, 53, went to the funeral and now supports Dean’s mother Karen Hessing, 50, who is on antidepressants and anxiety pills.

Lyn keeps in touch by social media and by text with Karen, who thinks Lee’s horrific death at 25 was the trigger for the problems her son faced.

Dean was a pallbearer at Lee Rigby’s funeral (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror) Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles

Lyn told her: “Always remember to take time for you because you have to be strong for everyone else even though you are broken inside.”

In another message, when Karen revealed she was feeling low, Lyn wrote: “Walk away, go ­somewhere where you can breathe and cry.”

Karen, of Urmston, Manchester, told the Sunday People: “Lyn has been wonderful. She keeps telling me to keep strong and I have to accept there will be hard days. She has been through it herself. She has picked me up when I was down.”

Karen Corbett has struggled with grief and has been in touch with Lyn (Image: Julian Hamilton/Sunday Mirror) Read More Related Articles

Karen revealed: “This has broken us. Everyone is upset at losing Dean and it seems they are ­blaming me which makes me feel terrible.

“I am hoping we can reach an understanding and that time can heal things. I hardly sleep.

“All I can think of is Dean lying in the flat where he died. I never saw his body but I cannot get the image out of my head. I miss him every day.”

Lyn Rigby and Karen have found solace in each other (Image: Julian Hamilton/Sunday Mirror) Read More Related Articles

At an inquest into Dean’s death just over a week ago, Karen said her son lost seven pals in his ­platoon on their first tour of Afghanistan.

A year later, in 2011, another friend was killed in a training accident in Kenya.

Karen told the coroner: “I feel the trauma Dean experienced as a result of Lee’s death was the trigger for problems which came afterwards.”

Former soldier Dean Corbett died last year of heart failure

Dean left the Army in 2013, having spent time in a military prison for an assault. He got in more trouble following a prank that got out of hand.

His decline worsened as his marriage to Laura – mum to his son Lewis, seven – broke down and his dad Barry killed himself aged 55 in April 2019.

The coroner heard he had post traumatic stress disorder and was referred to psychologists.

Karen told the hearing: “Considering what he experienced, he never got enough support from the Army. I wished he had never joined. I want to remember Dean for the son he was, not the man who came out the Army broken and in bits.”