London Bridge attack: Hero nurse stabbed to death as she tried to help another victim, inquest hears
Boyfriend tells court he is 'still in awe of her bravery'
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An Australian nurse was stabbed to death by terrorists after she ran to help another victim of the London Bridge attack, an inquest has heard.
Relatives of 28-year-old Kirsty Boden said they were "in awe of her bravery" in the June 2017 atrocity, when she was one of eight people killed.
The Old Bailey heard she was inside a restaurant with friends when she heard what she believed to be an accidental car crash, and went to investigate.
But Ms Boden was unwittingly walking into the path of three Isis-inspired terrorists, who had mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge before crashing their van and launching a knife rampage.
The court was shown CCTV of Ms Boden motioning to her friends to stay back before seeing victim Alexandre Pigeard bleeding on the ground.
Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack
Show all 8The nurse bent down to help when she was subjected to a sustained attack, running into an alleyway before collapsing and dying of her injuries.
Her British partner, James Hodder, told the court: "Her actions on that night didn't surprise anyone who knew her. To Kirsty it would not have seemed brave.
“She loved people and loved her life helping others. To Kirsty, her actions that night would have been an extension of how she lived her life. We are so unspeakably proud of her.”
At the time she was stabbed to death, Ms Boden was working as a senior staff nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in central London.
Her father, Ken Boden, said: "We miss Kirsty every second of the day. There is a hole in our hearts that will never heal."
The other victims killed were Christine Archibald, 30, Xavier Thomas, 45, Mr Pigeard, 26, Sara Zelenak, 21, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverria, 39.
A total of 48 other people were seriously injured in what chief coroner Mark Lucraft called 10 minutes of “high and terrible drama”.
Spanish financial crime analyst Mr Echeverria hit the terrorists with a skateboard to save a woman's life before he was stabbed to death, the court heard.
The man Ms Boden tried to help, Mr Pigeard, was murdered while “rushing to see if he could help” victims of what he believed to be an accidental crash.
French chef Sebastien Belanger, 36, had been drinking at Boro Bistro and was cornered by all three of the attackers but “bravely fought back” before being stabbed to death.
Another Frenchman, 45-year-old Xavier Thomas, became the first victim of the attack when he was struck by the terrorists' van and thrown into the River Thames.
The father-of-two was walking with his girlfriend Christine Delcros on the first day of their holiday in London, and called his teenage son seconds before being killed.
The van repeatedly mounted the pavement on London Bridge, killing the second victim as she walked alongside her fiance.
The court heard that Canadian social worker Christine Archibald, 30, had kissed her husband-to-be and told him “I love you” moments before being killed.
Her fiance, Tyler Ferguson, said they were “very much looking forward” to spending the rest of their lives together and starting a family.
Australian au pair Sara Zelenak was on a ”trip of a lifetime“ when she was knifed to death while on a night out with a friend nearby, her family said.
And dual British-Filipino national James McMullan, 32, had been celebrating getting financial backing for his online education company when he was murdered.
The 32-year-old been watching the football match with friends in The Barrowboy and Banker pub when he went outside for a cigarette and was caught in the attack.
Their attackers, Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were shot dead by police at the scene.
The court heard that the terrorists had taped 12ins ceramic kitchen knives to their wrists and were wearing fake suicide vests.
Their deaths will be examined before a jury, in separate inquests coming after an estimated eight weeks of hearings for their victims.
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Judge Lucraft says the three attackers were confronted and shot by armed police officers.
The inquest will examine their actions and those of the emergency services
He says the victims' inquests will be without a jury but the inquests into the attackers' deaths will have a jury
Judge Lucraft says the inquests will hear what security services knew of the attackers, and about the emergency response, protective security on the bridge and the hiring of the van
'Pen portraits' of the victims are starting with relatives of Xavier Thomas, the first man killed in the attack as he walked along the bridge
His father is currently paying tribute to his son's life in French. Unfortunately we do not have a translation at this time
Christine Delcros, Mr Thomas's girlfriend, is now speaking to the inquests in French
She was walking across London Bridge beside him when he was hit by the van and thrown into the River Thames. His body was not found until three days after the attack
The family's lawyer, Dominic Adamson, now reading a tribute in English from Mr Thomas's ex-wife and the mother of his children
He is telling the court of his "tremendous bond" with his two children, after he had his first daughter at the age of 21.
"He had a zest for life, he was totally committed to his duties as a father," he said. "His strength of character and sense of humour was demonstrated to every one of us ... his head was always full of plans for himself, his children, his work."
Mr Adamson, reading the tribute, says Mr Thomas loved cooking and travelling around the world through his work. He would take his daughters travelling with him during school holidays, and the last trip with one daughter was to Los Angeles for her 17th birthday earlier in 2017
Mr Thomas received accolades for his work and "still had so much to give", the court hears. "He would have loved to see his children grow up, he would have spoiled them."
"Barbarians who in no way can be described as children took his life and destroyed his family," the court hears. "We have been totally devastated by the way he was taken from us ... we all feel lost and are experiencing a great void without Xavier. His children have lost everything on which their lives were based."
"No-one can take away the love we have for him," the tribute says. "He will remain forever in our hearts."
His daughters have had tattoos in his memory. He met his partner Christine in 2015. Mr Adamson said Christine saw Xavier as a "one-off" who was loving and attentive. They travelled around the world together
"He was a true gentleman ... she couldn't help loving him so much. She had the greatest admiration for the person he was, she felt safe in his unconditional love"
Reading a tribute from Mr Thomas's girlfriend Christine, Mr Adamson said he brought "sunshine" into the life of her daughter Emma
"Since Xavier disappeared in such horrifying circumstances, our whole live has fallen apart"
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