The victim and her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, were attacked by a group of teenage boys while walking through Stubbylee Park in Bacup, Rossendale, Lancashire, on 11 August 2007.

A memorial fund was established in Lancaster's name, and numerous events have paid tribute to her locally, nationally and internationally.

"[5] The Guardian reported that afterwards, "The killers celebrated their attack on the goths – or 'moshers' – by telling friends afterwards that they had 'done summat [something] good', and claiming: 'There's two moshers nearly dead up Bacup park – you wanna see them – they're a right mess.

[7] Lancashire Police arrested five individuals in connection with the attack, but conducted extensive further investigations, as it appeared that up to fifteen people were in the area and may have witnessed or participated in the assault.

[9] Local residents identified the park as a spot often used by "drunken, violent yobs" guilty of vandalism and under-age drinking.

A preliminary hearing was held on 31 October 2007, where all five were charged with the murder of Lancaster and grievous bodily harm with intent for the assault on Maltby.

Brothers Joseph and Danny Hulme, and Daniel Mallett, who had all earlier pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent on Maltby, were jailed.

Herbert then had his tariff cut to fourteen and a half years on 10 February 2020, as a High Court judge concluded he had made "exceptional progress" in prison.

[26] At the alternative electronic music festival Infest in Bradford on 26 August 2007, just after Lancaster's death, Ronan Harris of VNV Nation dedicated the song "Illusion" to her and contacted the family to offer his condolences.

The club played a game during the concert with all the takings going to the memorial fund;[9][31][32] this included a song written in Lancaster's honour.

Standing for "Stamp Out Prejudice Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere", it aims to "provide an appropriate memorial; a lasting legacy to raise awareness of the injustice perpetrated against Sophie Lancaster and to work towards a more tolerant, less violent society".

Lancaster's memory was further honoured at the Eccentrik Festival in North Carolina, and it was said that "three more concerts are planned in California, one in Iowa and one in Brisbane, Australia".

[40] Lancaster's public funeral was organised for 12 November 2007, and attended by hundreds of people, including BBC film crews.

[44][45] A repeat event was planned for 26 November 2008, headlined by The Damned and AOR featuring Dave Sharp, founder member of The Alarm.

On 24-25 June 2008, Carabas Theatre Company performed a new dark comedy that dealt with perceptions of the Gothic subculture, donating all profits to the S.O.P.H.I.E fund.

On 14 June 2014, it was announced that Lancaster's mother Sylvia was to receive an OBE in recognition of her campaign to promote a more tolerant society.

[51] The attack was discussed in the media in connection with a wave of youth gang-related violence in the UK over the summer of 2007, including the murder of Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones.

[52] Then Conservative leader David Cameron mentioned the attack as an example in a "speech criticising youth crime and Britain's 'real and growing' problem with violence".

[55] Rod Liddle of The Sunday Times observed after the murder that the victims of the attack had paid the price for the indulgence of the "feral" criminals who perpetrated it "by their parents, by the courts, by the council, by a government which wants to send fewer such people to prison.

On 26 November 2009, which would have been Lancaster's 23rd birthday, a 4-minute animation named Dark Angel, based on the murder, was released onto the internet and shown on MTV.

She spoke the words of Sylvia Lancaster about the life and death of Sophie (who was played by Austin reprising her role) throughout the programme.

[66] Character Nina Lucas (Mollie Gallagher) was attacked for her gothic appearance, as was her boyfriend Seb Franklin (Harry Visinoni) who ended up dying in hospital.

Sophie's death has made people think, and I have heard of teenagers, especially girls, modifying the way they dress when they walk through certain areas.

The paper reported that they would be "putting forward an early day motion calling on the government to give the matter 'urgent consideration'.

Maltby revealed that his brain had fully recovered following the attack and he had returned to his art studies but had struggled with depression and could not bring himself to immediately visit Sophie's grave.

He also stated that he did not view Sophie's death as a hate crime and described the media's focus on the goth angle as an "oversimplification of a much broader social issue" and "victim blaming".

Maltby also revealed that he no longer followed goth fashion, had since entered into a new relationship and planned to move abroad to further his artistic ambitions.