Jo Cox's Husband Says She 'Died Because of Her Strong Views'

Cox described his late wife as someone who “cherished every moment."

ByABC News
June 21, 2016, 1:41 PM

— London -- Brendan Cox, the husband of slain British politician Jo Cox, said she was killed because of her "strong political views."

Cox said that his wife -- a member of parliament for the Labour Party and a campaigner for human rights -- was targeted for her beliefs.

“She was a politician and she had very strong political views and I believe that she was killed because of those views,” Cox said reporters today. "I think she died because of them and she would want to stand up for those in death as much as she did in life.”

Cox, 41, died last Thursday after being shot and stabbed multiple times after a meeting in her constituency. Police have charged Thomas Mair, 52, with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offense and possession of an offensive weapon.

Cox described his late wife as someone who “cherished every moment” and “wasn’t perfect.”

“I remember so much about her but most of all I will remember that she met the world with love and both love for her children, love in her family and also love for people she didn't know,” he said.

Cox said he was grateful for the outpouring of support, especially his children.

"What the public support and outpouring of love around this does, is it also helps the children see that…the grief that they feel isn't abnormal, that they feel it more acutely and more painfully and more personally but that actually their mother was someone who was loved by lots of people and that therefore, it's okay to be upset and it's okay for them to cry and to be sad about it," he said.

Cox also thanked the public on Twitter for its "incredible generosity" after a charity fund set up in his wife's memory had collected over $1 million in donations.