Mother of British soldier gunned down by Real IRA terrorist 'died of a broken heart'

The mother of a soldier shot dead by the Real IRA as he took delivery of a pizza has 'died of a broken heart', her daughter said yesterday.
Pamela Brankin, 51, was said to be destroyed by the death of her son, 23-year-old Sapper Mark Quinsey, in March 2009.
The trooper was gunned down alongside Sapper Patrick Azimkar, 21, as they collected a pizza outside the Massereen Barracks in County Antrim.
The pair, from 38 Engineer Regiment, were murdered hours before they were due to deploy to Afghanistan.

Pamela Brankin, left, is said to have died of a broken heart after the murder of her son Mark by a member of the Real IRA. Her daughter Jaime, right, said: 'The Real IRA killed both my brother and my mother'

Mrs Brankin, from Birmingham, was found dead this week, a fortnight after the fourth anniversary of the killings.
Yesterday, her daughter Jaime Quinsey, 29, said: 'The Real IRA killed both my brother and my mother.
'She felt like she could not get justice for Mark - and that was destroying her.
'She collapsed and I knew it was the end.
'She was just crying and crying and I raced over to see her.
'She could not deal with it, she could not rest, it was tormenting her.

'Mum wanted justice, but in the end she died of a broken heart.
'Mum was really suffering. She tried to block it all out by turning to alcohol, but her mind was gone, it just killed her.
'She was an amazing woman and before Mark was killed she had such a joyful spirit, but that was completely taken away. We rarely saw her smile after that day.
'She had her first fit on the day that he died and she was never the same after that.'
The week before her death, Mrs Brankin had enjoyed a Mother's Day trip to Crufts with her daughter.

Sapper Quinsey, of 38 Engineer Regiment, was due to deploy to Afghanistan when he was killed in March 2009. His sister Jaime, pictured right with her brother, says their mother Pamela was destroyed by his death

Miss Quinsey said: 'It was an amazing day and she said she was so glad we had arranged the tickets.
'It was one of the few times that we saw her smiling recently.'
Police are not treating the death as suspicious.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said officers were called to her home in Highters Heath, Birmingham, on Sunday at 4pm.
The Mayor of Antrim, Councillor Roy Thompson said: 'We know that Pamela has been in very poor health since Mark’s murder and now both victims' families, who have become firm friends, have suffered another loss.
'Their suffering continues and our deepest sympathy is with Pamela’s family circle, in particular her daughter Jaime.'
Brian Shivers, 47, from Londonderry, is on trial in Belfast for the murders of the two soldiers on March 7 2009, which he denies.
He also denies charges of the attempted murders of two other soldiers and two civilian guards at the base, and two pizza delivery men.

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