Sheffield mum’s heartbreaking final words to beloved teenage son before he died

Ethan Slater, aged 17, from Shiregreen, died alongside his teenage sweetheart, Cherish Bean, on a family vacation in Bridlington.

The younger couple had been staying in a lodge in a vacation park when tragedy struck.

Today, as Cherish is laid to relaxation, Ethan’s mum has spoken for the primary time in regards to the tragedy and the way she takes consolation in the truth that that younger couple are collectively.

“He will be missed by so many, but our biggest comfort is they’re together, he’s not on his own. It’s nice to know they have each other,” Ethan’s mum, Gabi Gatto, 35, said.

The last thing Gabi said to Ethan, as he headed off for his holiday, was something she had said a hundred times before.

“Bye, love you. Have a good time.”

There was nothing to suggest it would be the last time she would ever speak to the much-loved teen.

“I had no idea, it was just a normal goodbye. It’s weird, he just walked out on Monday morning and he’s never walked back through the door. It’s like we keep waiting for him to come home,” she said.

Gabi’s youngest son, three-year-old Khyan, nonetheless asks for his massive brother.

“Khyan mentioned yesterday, ‘I want to ring Ethan – what do you say to that?” she said.

The opening of an inquest into the deaths of Ethan and Cherish has heard the teenagers may have died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The hearing was told both teenagers had been “fit and well” before they were last seen alive.

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, and have since been released on bail. Investigations are ongoing.

Gabi, a mental health support worker, recalled the day she received the call that imploded her world.

“I’d been off work for a number of weeks, and it was my first day again. I’d solely been again an hour-and-a half after I bought the decision,” she mentioned.

Colleagues initially would not let her drive, keeping her there for about an hour before she drove as far as Goole. There, police officers met her and took her the rest of the way to Bridlington.

She described the harrowing wait.

“It was just awful. I obviously wasn’t able to see him [Ethan], but just standing about waiting was excruciating.”

Ethan had simply celebrated his seventeenth birthday

Just a week before his death, Ethan had celebrated his 17th birthday and had his first driving lesson, something he had always been raring to do.

His mum said he had a passion for cars and “hated walking”, constantly asking family members for lifts.

“I was basically his taxi, he was forever asking me or his nannan for lifts, so he couldn’t wait to finally learn,” she joked.

He came home after his first lesson buzzing with excitement after being told he was a ‘natural’.

“His instructor said he would never have guessed it was his first lesson, maybe his eighth,

“He probably would have passed very soon,” Gabi mentioned.

Described as “the man of the house”, Ethan was the eldest of four siblings – Ivan, 15, Khaleesi, 7, and Khyan, 3 – and a constant, larger-than-life presence at home.

“He was very family oriented,” said his nannan, Terrie Gatto.

Gabi added: “He loved his siblings to bits – he absolutely tormented them – but he loved them.”

A self-confessed “big joker”, Ethan was known for winding up his siblings with “dead legs and bogeys”.

The eldest sibling in his family, his mum said he took after her.

“We were the same person in two different bodies – two peas in a pod,” Gabi said.

“He loved music – rap and especially baseline – just like his mum.”

His nannan added: “It used to drive me crazy in the car – I like to drive quietly, but I’d pick him up for a lift and he’d put it on full blast.”

Gabi says Ethan was constantly on the phone to her: “He would ring me up about everything, he wouldn’t leave me alone – unless he was with Cherish,” she joked.

Ethan and Cherish had met through a shared friendship group and quickly became inseparable.

“They were obsessed with each other, that proper first love,” said his mum.

In the days since their deaths, that relationship has brought some comfort.

Ethan had attended Beck School before moving to Firth Park, and then Spring Lane, though traditional education never quite suited him.

“He had ADHD, and he wasn’t made for sitting nonetheless,” his mum mentioned.

“He was more practical – he needed to be doing something.”

Working alongside Cherish’s grandad, Ethan had been learning the trade – roofing, driveways and kitchens – with plans to move into road works in the coming months.

“Cherish’s grandad wanted to retire, so he was teaching Ethan everything he needed to know,

“He had big ambitions for his future, for what he wanted to achieve, and he loved working and earning his money,” Gabi recalled.

At home, Ethan was just as hands-on – knocking down walls, building wardrobes, helping wherever he could.

His nannan mentioned he gave her a hand with no matter she wanted.

“He helped me with everything,” she mentioned.

“Though he always wanted things done there and then. One day he decided he needed to replace a windowsill and was very frustrated when they told him they couldn’t get the materials until the next day,” she smiled.

Away from work, Ethan was known for throwing himself into hobbies – even if they didn’t always last.

“First it was fishing, then boxing, then the gym – he loved trying out new things. But the one thing that he had always loved was his family, and his food,” Gabi said.

Ethan loved hearty, home-cooked meals – often asking his mum for meat and potato pie, or stew and dumplings.

“It wasn’t the food that I’d choose, but he’d say to me, ‘Mum, can we have English food tonight’ – he loved it.”

Much like his girlfriend Cherish, Ethan’s family also said he also took great pride in his appearance.

“He loved his clothes and his shoes, always doing his hair, looking in the mirror.”

At Street Barbers on Hatfield House Lane, staff described Ethan as one of their “most loved, kind, well-mannered customers”.

The shop has announced it will change its sign to read “Ethan’s Barbers” in his memory.

Funeral details have been announced

Friends have rallied around the family, even coming together to build benches in Gabi’s garden, creating a space for reflection.

“Everyone’s been amazing, I don’t know what I’d do without it,” she said.

Gabi announced this week that his funeral will be held at St Mary’s Church in Ecclesfield at 1pm on Thursday, April 2, followed by a burial at Concord Cemetery at 2.30pm and a wake at Colley Club from 3.30pm.

The family are encouraging mourners to wear blue, but say there is no strict dress code.

“He’d be happy with whatever people want to wear,” Gabi said.

Today, on the day of Cherish’s funeral, the families reflect on the love between the pair.

The couple had been together for two and a half years – something Cherish’s mum, Devon, said was unusual for teenagers so young.

“For someone of that age, it’s a long time – they were childhood sweethearts.”

“It’s strange looking back at photos from when they first got together because Ethan had matured so much.”

By the time the pair reached their mid-teens, their families had grown used to seeing them together almost everywhere.

“Ethan came everywhere with her. He came on lots of our family holidays and he was always around.”

“Everyone could see how smitten they both were – they were such a perfect pair together.

“We will never recover from losing these two precious souls, we just hope that one day we meet again.

“Our world was torn into a million pieces when we lost them.”