The family of Stephanie Marie, who was found stabbed in Crawley train station car park have paid tribute to a “much-loved daughter, sister and mother”.

In a statement, her family said: “We are devastated that her young life has been ended in this way. She had her whole life ahead of her.”

Specialist officers are supporting her family at this time

26-year-old, Jason Pascal Flore, has been charged with her murder.

Police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder following an incident in Crawley.

Officers were called to Station Way at around 7.10am to a report of an altercation between a man and a woman.

The area was searched and a woman was found in a car park nearby with stab injuries. She was treated by paramedics, but was sadly confirmed dead at the scene. 

A wider search was launched to locate a suspect, and a 26-year-old man from Crawley was located quickly in Stephenson Road and arrested on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody at this time.

Superintendent Rachel Swinney said: “This is a tragic incident that has seen a young woman lose her life, and we are working hard to understand exactly what has happened.

“Officers were able to swiftly bring a suspect into custody and we are not currently searching for anyone else.

“There will now be an increased police presence in what is a busy area of Crawley as we carry out our enquiries. I would urge anyone with any concerns to please speak to an officer at the scene.

“Similarly, anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information that could help is asked to contact police online or via 101, quoting Operation Venn.”

A prolific shoplifter who targeted stores across Crawley and breached multiple behavioural orders has been jailed.

Damien O’Hare, 48, of no fixed address, was charged with 26 counts of shoplifting, 22 counts of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order and one count of using insulting/threatening language.

The offences were all committed between March and June 2024, predominantly targeted at a Co-op in Dorsten Square, Bewbush, as well as a number of other stores.

O’Hare would brazenly enter the store, take goods from shelves and leave without paying in full view of staff.

On some occasions he was challenged and threatened to violently assault a female member of staff.

He targeted some stores multiple times on the same day, and each theft from the Co-op was in breach of an existing Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from entering any Co-op store in Sussex.

O’Hare pleaded guilty to all charges at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on 10 June.

He was sentenced to three years and three months in prison at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday, 14 August.

Detective Chief Inspector Pauline Lane said: “The vast scale of Damien O’Hare’s offending shows a man with absolutely no regard for the intimidation and financial harm he was causing these businesses and their employees.

“Shoplifting is far from a victimless crime. Shopworkers should feel comfortable going to work without having to face threats or putting themselves at risk by confronting brazen criminals.

“We will continue to work closely with our business community to protect them, make it easier to report crime and share intelligence to allow us to target prolific offenders such as O’Hare.”

Crawley Borough Council has refurbished and reopened Meadowlands Play Area in West Green as part of a wider programme to revitalise unsupervised playgrounds across Crawley.

New play equipment installed includes a tipi carousel, steel swing frame consisting of an inclusive swing seat, cradle swing and ‘you and me’ swing, three springers, a roundabout and a junior multi-play tower with two slides.

Crawley Borough Council spent £65,000 on the works and allocated additional funds to improve the access footpath from West Green Drive to the play area and general groundwork improvements.

As part of the current phase of the Unsupervised Play Investment Programme, six out of the 10 approved schemes have now been completed, with the remaining four schemes to be delivered by early 2025.

To celebrate the refurbishment of Meadowlands Play Area, Crawley Play Service organised a fun day. The event – part of the wider summer holiday outreach programme – saw local community groups join in to deliver a fantastic, vibrant event.