I went looking for my girl, 21, & stumbled across horror death scene… killer driver high on coke claimed SHE was victim

IT’S something so many parents say before their children set off on a drive: “Text me when you arrive.” And mum Julie Mann, 46, was no different. Tragic Abbey Sheriff was just 21 when she was killed by a drug driver Credit: Medavia Evie Lyn Butterworth admitted manslaughter after killing Abbey Credit: Medavia Her daughter Abbey, 21, had decided to travel to see a pal who was having a tricky time on January 11, 2023. He lived a 45-minute journey away and it was 11pm. “I didn’t want her to go but she was worried about him,” says Julie, who welcomed “miracle” Abbey – her only child – after 11 miscarriages and a stillbirth. “Still, as she climbed into her car, a niggling feeling plagued me,” says Julie. “I told her: ‘I think you should stay home’.” Nevertheless, Abbey decided to go. “She always put others before herself,” says her mum. Waving goodbye she said “I love you so much, Mama” before driving off. Abbey, pictured with her mum Julie, when she was a toddler Credit: Medavia Heartbroken Julie at Abbey’s grave Julie and her husband, Abbey’s dad Darren, 55, went to bed. But an hour later she was fretting – she still hadn’t received notification from Abbey that she had arrived at her friend’s home. And she wasn’t answering her calls. Waking Darren, she told him: “I feel like something bad has happened.” They set off along the route Abbey would have taken in Perth, Australia. And that’s when the horror unfolded. Julie remembers: “About 20 minutes later, as we drove north onto the road we saw a road sign reading ‘Major Crash Ahead’. Red and blue lights from the emergency service vehicles flashed across the road and it was cordoned off.” Julie was terrified. “My heart was racing,” she recalls. “Darren pulled over and I tried to get out of the car, but traffic control stopped me. All I could see was a helicopter leaving the scene. I remember crying to the police: ‘I think that’s my daughter’.” She described Abbey’s charcoal grey Nissan X-Trail to the police, hoping desperately for good news. But it wasn’t to be. “The officer admitted the same model car had been involved in the crash but couldn’t elaborate further,” says Julie. “Deep down we knew it was Abbey and she’d been hurt, but we hoped for a miracle.” But it was three “agonising” hours before Julie’s worst fears were confirmed. “A detective told us ‘I’m sorry but your daughter is dead,’” remembers Julie. “I screamed ‘No’ into Darren’s chest. “Then I listened in horror as we were told her car had been hit by another car. Police suspected the other driver was under the influence of drugs. My only child, the one we had spent over a decade trying to bring into the world, was gone.” At home she felt “totally lost,” the road safety campaigner says. “At Abbey’s funeral, 18 days later, it was like I was stuck in a horrible nightmare.” Two months later, ex-childcare worker Evie Lyn Butterworth, then 28, from Western Australia, was charged with manslaughter and driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs. In November 2024, Julie and Darren – who have separated but remained united – faced their daughter’s killer in the Western Australia Supreme Court after she’d pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The prosecution had dropped the separate DUI charge as it was encompassed by the manslaughter charge. Julie says: “We were drowning in grief but determined to get justice for Abbey and remained a united front. We listened in horror as the details of the crash were laid bare.” The court was told Butterworth, high on a cocktail of cocaine and methylamphetamine, was travelling at more than 90mph – 30mph above the speed limit – as she approached Abbey’s car from behind. Julie says: “The court was told she tried to brake, but it was too late. As she hit Abbey’s car, my darling girl lost control and rolled several times off the freeway and into the bushes, stopping 94 metres from the point of impact. Abbey, left, pictured with her mum Julie, right Credit: Medavia Abbey’s family celebrated her 23rd birthday without her Credit: Medavia “Sickeningly, Butterworth claimed to people who’d stopped that she was the victim of a hit and run. But one of the men discovered our girl’s car nearby. He checked Abbey’s pulse, and she was still breathing. “Rushing to his car, he called emergency services, but by the time he got back to Abbey, she’d tragically died.” Justice Alain Musikanth, who said “no sentence could ever reflect the value of Abbey’s life,” jailed Butterworth for nine years and six months and banned her from driving for 10 years to be served after her release. “Darren and I breathed a sigh of relief,” says Julie. She says she’ll never forget Abbey. “She loved sports, especially swimming and footy. Aged 12, she even helped save a stranger from a near drowning incident at the public pool. Family was Abbey’s top priority.” Julie won’t let her daughter’s death be in vain. “I’m now in the process of starting a foundation to help families impacted by drug-driving accidents,” she says. “I hope to give talks to schools to educate students on the dangers of driving under the influence. I know that by helping others, as Abbey did, my girl would be so proud.” Evie Lyn Butterworth was jailed for more than nine years after admitting manslaughter Credit: Medavia Julie and her daughter, Abbey Credit: Medavia