Joe Pooley's mother unknowingly cuddled her son's murderer at his memorial service, a new Netflix documentary has revealed.
The life and death of Mr Pooley is the subject of the seventh episode of When Missing Turns to Murder, which aired on Netflix on Wednesday.
The documentary shines a light on the events leading up to 22-year-old Mr Pooley's murder, the discovery of his body in the River Gipping in 2018 and the conviction of his three killers, who were jailed for life in May 2021.
Visiting various areas of Ipswich, including the site where Mr Pooley's body was found in the river, his mother, Samantha Nicholls, explained her fight for an autism diagnosis for her son.
In his final months, Mr Pooley lived in Kingsley Guest House, which Ms Nicholls "didn't like at all".
"It was another homeless environment with people just released from prison," she said.
"Joe was there with no support."
In the course of the documentary, it was revealed that Ms Nicholls had unknowingly met one of her son's murderers, Becki West-Davidson, at his memorial service.
"I cuddled her and tried to make her feel better," she said.
Later on, Mr Pooley's ex-girlfriend Siannon Long hacked his phone and found messages from West-Davidson saying: "I'm going to see you dead," which Ms Nicholls sent straight to Suffolk police.
The documentary crew also spoke to Detective Chief Inspector Karl Nightingale who revealed details on the murder investigation, including how they identified Mr Pooley's body and the charges brought against his killers.
"Murder's a very complicated offence," he said.
"Even though Becki West-Davidson wasn't present at the time of his death, she stoked the fire."
READ MORE: Mum of murdered Joe Pooley describes son's killers as 'bullies'
At the end of the episode, Ms Nicholls visited Mr Pooley's memorial bench in Christchurch Park and recited a poem she had written.
It read: "Not only did they steal my son of that they had no right to take away his right to life that fateful August night.
"Each one was meant to be his friend, or so each of them claimed. Unable to defend himself, and that's why poor Joe dies.
"It's murder and they took my son. The sentence should be life."
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