Loving couple’s trip of a lifetime left husband dead after day of terror at Westminster
A COUPLE on their last day of a dream European holiday became Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood’s first victims, it emerged yesterday.
Musician Kurt, 54, was killed after being thrown over the edge of Westminster Bridge on to concrete steps below. Melissa, 46, survived and was last night recovering in hospital from injuries including a broken leg and rib. The couple had been due to fly home yesterday to West Bountiful, Utah.
PM Theresa May had told MPs yesterday that around 40 were injured, with 29 people from 11 different countries still in hospital. Three police officers on their way back from a bravery award ceremony were among them, with one critically ill last night.
Kurt and Melissa, who ran a recording studio back home, were at the end of a “dream” month-long trip of Europe — with London their final call after Holland, Germany, Scotland and Ireland.
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Last month Melissa posted a picture of the lovebirds smooching on Facebook, to which a pal replied: “Get a room you hoodlums!”
The pair had been enjoying the stunning views of Westminster while strolling over its famous bridge when tragedy struck.
Photographer Toby Melville was standing ten yards from the spot where Kurt fell.
He said: “There was a lot of blood coming from his head. I thought this must be a domestic or a horrible accident. It was just surreal and it was a fairly quick computation this was a serious incident and a lot of people were injured.”
As passers-by raced to Kurt’s aid, Melissa was pictured on the bridge with blood pouring from her head being comforted by a stranger.
Shocked relatives yesterday told how the tragedy in London had “rocked them to the core”.
Sister-in-law Shantell Payne said: “With a heavy heart I must pass the sad news of our beautiful brother, father, husband, son and friend Kurt Cochran.
“This pain is so heart-wrenching and raw it has rocked our family and all that knew him to its core.
“We will miss Kurt beyond words. We love you Kurt. Melissa is in the hospital with a broken leg, rib and a cut on her head but will recover from her injuries. Sending all the love to her for a quick recovery. While we are glad she survived, our hearts are broken and will never be the same after losing our dear uncle, brother-in-law, father.
“Kurt, you are a hero, and we will never forget you.”
In a statement the family said it was “heartbroken”, adding: “Kurt was a good man and a loving husband to our daughter and sister, Melissa. He will be greatly missed.”
The 29 in hospital as Theresa May spoke included 12 Brits, four South Koreans, two Romanians, two Greeks and one German.
One Pole, one Irish, one Chinese, one Italian and American Melissa made up the rest, along with three French teenagers from a private sixth-form college in Brittany.
Their parents arrived in London on Wednesday night on a French government jet.
The country’s Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also visited the injured students in hospital.
Kilian, a classmate, told his mum on text: “We saw the car hit the group. Twenty seconds more and it would have been us.” He said his friend Clément had been “brushed” by the “crazy car” but been unscathed.
Also hurt were four students in a group of 13 visiting London from Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancs, including one with head injuries.
