A tree in Truro’s Furniss Island has been festooned with Christmas decorations overnight – including 29 robins – in memory of a former Truro College student who was found dead on December 10 five years ago.
Family and friends of Callum Rice decorated the tree on Saturday night to mark his death.
The tree is covered in hearts, large Christmas decorations and 29 robins to mark what would have been Callum’s 29th birthday this year.
There are also pictures of the Truro man through the years with friends and family as well as dedications to him.
Close friend Nadine Lees told Cornwall Live: “I knew him from when he moved to Truro when he was 15 – he was a really good friend and very loved by a lot of people.
"When he died we were devastated … broken … so we decided to choose a tree, Callum’s tree, in Furniss Island and decorate it every Christmas, around the day he died, in his honour."
“It’s a place his friends can congregate and remember him. It’s his memorial patch.”
The tree is also decorated with balloons on August 23, his birthday.
Callum was found dead at an address in the city centre near Kenwyn Street on Tuesday, December 10, 2013. He was just 24.
The inquest into Callum’s death was not held for almost two years, with the coroner ruling on November 6, 2015 that the young man’s death had been drug-related.
Zara Carroll-McArdle, the partner of Callum’s dad Marcus Rice, said: “The girls started doing this when he died. Everybody was in such shock we didn’t know what to do, so Nadine and his other friends started decorating the tree.
“This time of year is always a painful time – it never gets easier. Though we try to celebrate and not be sad.
Callum left a brother Jai, 18, and sister Jasmine, 8.
Zara said of his death: “He was given something. He went to sleep and never woke up.”
Callum’s friends and family are hoping Truro City Council will allow the memorial to Callum to stay on the tree over Christmas.
