Two killers – one fictional and one real – whose actions will leave a lasting impact on everyone they touched. Jamie Miller from Adolescence and Yura Varybrus, who murdered Charlie Cosser, serve as stark reminders of the devastating consequences of knife crime.

Martin Cosser, whose son Charlie was killed in a senseless knife attack, has warned that young people today are growing up in a “virtual world where nothing is real anymore” – a reality vividly portrayed in Netflix’s Adolescence. The series, which exposes the dangers facing youth in today’s world, resonates deeply with Martin, who believes it will “terrify” parents and “resonate” with young people.

Charlie, 17, from Milford, was fatally stabbed on a crowded dance floor at an end-of-term party in West Sussex in 2023. He was attacked by Yura Varybrus, also 17, after Varybrus was asked to leave due to inappropriate behaviour towards a girl. Charlie died two days later in hospital. His killer was sentenced to life for his murder.

Netflix’s Adolescence is not the same story – but it does have some tragic similarities. Both involve a teenage killer, aggression towards women, and an innocent life that should never have been lost. Even though Adolescence is a dramatised show, its story reflects a harsh reality for many. What is more frightening is how quickly that reality can happen to anyone.

The Netflix smash hit follows Jamie Miller, a seemingly ordinary 13-year-old boy. When armed police break down his family’s front door, arrest him at gunpoint, and he wets himself, the audience feels sympathy for him. But [spoiler alert] there is no doubt that Jamie murdered Katie, his fellow classmate. At the end of the first episode, we see CCTV footage of the brutal stabbing. The show is not a whodunit; it’s a why-dunit.

Understanding why is the hardest part. The show forces viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about the dangers of the internet and misogyny. Each episode is filmed in a single take, unfolding in real time, making it feel all the more immersive and unsettling.

It explores peer pressure, social media’s influence, and the frightening ease with which young people can be drawn into deadly situations. For parents, it’s a wake-up call. For teenagers, it’s a warning. This isn’t just a crime story – it’s a reflection of a world where violence feels closer than ever, and no one is untouched by its consequences.

Reflecting on the series, Martin said: “We shouldn’t smother them – we should be able to trust our children – but we do need to know what they’re doing and who they’re talking to because the internet is not always a safe place.”

He added: “We need to encourage parents to have open, honest, and transparent conversations with their children. I will never know if Charlie knew someone at that party had a knife. And I will never be able to ask him. I hope he didn’t but our kids should know the dangers so that what happened to my boy doesn’t happen to them.”

Watching the show from the perspective of the perpetrator’s family was difficult for Martin. “I don’t like thinking sympathetically about Yura’s mother, who blew him kisses in the courtroom, but the reality is that his crime will have affected her. The series shows how a child’s actions don’t just ruin their own life – their whole family becomes a target.”

Here, Martin is referring to the final episode in the series, which focuses on Jamie’s family. It is blistering in its portrayal of how their lives have been turned upside down by his actions. None of them will ever be the same.

Martin believes knife crime has a far-reaching ripple effect, devastating entire communities. “It’s not just the victim and the perpetrator – it’s their families, their friends, their schools.”

Martin Cosser’s grief has driven him to take action. He founded Charlie’s Promise, a charity born from a vow he made to his son as he lay dying: to spend his life educating others about the devastating impact of knife crime. Charlie’s Promise aims to raise awareness about the dangers of carrying knives and support families affected by knife violence.

He said: “When I promised Charlie as he lay in hospital before we switched off his life support machine that I would spend my life educating young people – which I am already doing – part of that promise was that nobody would forget him. And that will never, ever happen. We will never allow him to be forgotten.”

Since August last year, in his role as co-founder of Charlie’s Promise, Martin has spoken to almost 20,000 young people.

He stresses the need to speak to young people but asks: “How do we reach these kids?”

The show has made it clear that young people communicate differently because of social media. Martin emphasises that we need to engage with them in their own language or risk alienating them further.

“I have spoken to so many kids who don’t think they have a place in society. They are just going round ducking and diving, angry, until something terrible happens – like what happened to Charlie.”

His frustration extends beyond personal grief. Knife crime in the UK has become an increasingly pressing concern, with recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing a seven per cent rise in offences involving knives or sharp instruments in 2023, from 46,153 in 2022 to 49,489 in 2023.

Martin has been invited to join the government’s Anti-Knife Crime Coalition.

“There are lots of things that need to change, and I think the government needs to hear from people like me who have experienced this type of crime,” he said.

“I think I can add real value to that committee.”

As Adolescence continues to spark national discussion, it’s clear that the series has tapped into something urgent and necessary. It’s more than entertainment; it’s a reflection of a grim reality too many families know all too well.

Martin believes showing the series in schools would have a greater impact than a traditional knife crime talk by the police.

“In every school I go to, when I share Charlie’s story, the children always tell me what an impact it has, but I can’t be in every school, and I think a show like this will do more than a police officer coming in. This show will hit hard.”

For Martin, every conversation about the show is a step towards preventing another senseless death. Like with his talks, he believes that even if one person watches this and thinks twice about picking up a knife, then it has done some good.

Charlie might not have known there was a knife at the party, but as part of his talks, Martin urges young people to walk away and report anyone carrying a knife.

“But we need to do more than that. We need to talk to our kids. We need to make sure they understand the consequences, and that we understand them and what’s happening in their lives.

“We have to be better.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Jamie’s parents in the show, who cannot believe that their little boy could do such a thing.

Jamie Miller’s story is fictional, but Charlie Cosser’s is not. Both serve as stark warnings of what can happen when violence becomes normalised among young people. The difference is that one is a TV show, and the other is a family’s unending nightmare. And for Martin Cosser, that distinction is everything.