On April 15th, 1989, Trevor and Jenni Hicks and their two teen-age daughters travelled from Liverpool, England, to Hillsborough stadium, in Sheffield, to watch their favorite soccer team play in a semifinal cup match. It was a sunny Saturday in the usually dreary north of England. About an hour before kickoff, the family split up. Jenni had a ticket for a seat in one of the stadium’s terraces, while her husband and daughters would be standing in one of Hillsborough’s “pens”—sections enclosed by high fences meant to contain the visiting team’s supporters. The match promised a thrilling afternoon, a chance for Liverpool to display its dominance, fielding legends such as Peter Beardsley and John Barnes. Trevor told his girls, Sarah and Vicki, to go on ahead while he waited in a concession line to buy coffee. Then something terrible happened.

See the rest of the story at newyorker.com