The family of the British schoolboy killed in the Connecticut school massacre today revealed the last words he spoke to them were of his excitement for Christmas.
Dylan Hockley, six, and his family regularly spoke to his British relatives on the internet, using Skype.
His aunt Judith Hockley, 45, said each time Dylan had spoken to his UK family he had excitedly told about his happy life in America.
And the last time members of Dylan’s family spoke to Mrs Hockley they told her how much the four of them were looking forward to spending Christmas together.
But now the aunt says she expects little Dylan’s funeral to take place at the end of this week.
Mrs Hockley said they family were so traumatised her husband had bought a one-way ticket so he can stay in the US indefinitely to comfort his brother – Dylan’s father Ian, 42.
Mrs Hockley, who has stayed at home in Peterborough, Cambs., said: “Dylan was a typical six-year-old boy, he was confident and happy and loved his family.
“He had been to Peterborough a number of times before leaving for America and whenever I saw him he was smiling.
He [Dylan] was enjoying life in America and had made many new friends there.
“He enjoyed going to school and had really settled in well.
“His parents and older brother Jake were also enjoying their new life in Newtown, it sounded like such a nice place.
“When I last spoke to them they were looking forward to spending Christmas together.”
She added: “The whole family are devastated. Everyone is grieving for Dylan.
“My husband and daughter have flown out to be with them. They don’t have return tickets so will stay as long as they can.
“The last few days have been very traumatic for us all.
“I still can’t believe what has happened.
“There is such a big void in our family now.”
Mrs Hockley said that she and her husband had heard that “something was up” on Friday evening from a family member.
The couple then waited into the early hours of Saturday morning before the news came through that Dylan had been killed.
Mrs Hockley previously said: “We knew the boys went to that school.
“We were all waiting by the phone, then we heard confirmation very early on Saturday morning. The family are understandably heartbroken.
“Dylan was wonderful to be around and will be sorely missed by his brother, parents and immediate family.
“He was gorgeous and I’ve never known brothers like him and Jake – they were best mates.”
Dylan’s father Ian was born and grew up in Peterborough before going to the University of East Anglia to study finance.
It was while he was studying he met his American wife Nicole, now 42, who was studying there as part of an exchange programme with a college in Connecticut.
The couple decided to move to America for a better quality of life and so they could be closer to Nicole Hockley’s parents, Mrs Hockley said.
Dylan’s grandparents, Thomas and Ivy Hockley, who also live in the Peterborough area, have also flown to the US to be with Dylan’s parents, Judith Hockley said.
