Coroner finds man was ‘unlawfully killed’ following Beckenham ‘one punch’ attack

Calls have been made to re-open a criminal investigation into the death of a father after he was punched ‘tremendously hard’ on a night out. Riccardo Holness, 42, was attacked outside of a nightclub in Beckenham High Street on October 17, 2021.

His attacker, Thomas Spicer, was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, but was not charged with any offences. The case was ultimately discontinued after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided there was not a realistic chance of conviction.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Holness’ cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head. An inquest into the death took place this week which saw Mr Spicer called to give evidence on the incident.

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He declined to answer several questions and allegations put to him over the attack, having been advised by Edmund Gritt, assistant coroner for south London, that he did not have to answer questions if he felt he may incriminate himself. CCTV footage played at the inquest showed an altercation transpire between Holness and Spicer’s friend, Jack Henderson, outside My Place bar.

Spicer then punched Holness in the face, knocking him to the ground. Following this, Riccardo was rushed to King’s College Hospital where he was placed on life support until the time of his death one month later.

Spicer admitted to punching Holness. During his police interview, he claimed he was not intoxicated but admitted to drinking a couple of pints of lager, three or four double rum and cokes and a couple of Jägerbombs prior to the incident.

During the inquest, allegations were put to Spicer that he ‘took a run up and punched Mr Holness tremendously hard’ using force that ‘was completely unreasonable in the circumstances’. He refused to comment on these claims. Doorman Enio Cardoso, who had intervened during the incident, said that Holness did not appear to pose any sort of threat to anyone and that he was not sober enough to defend himself, nor was he looking in Spicer’s direction when he punched him from the side.

Assistant coroner Mr Gritt described the attack as a “punch at explosive speed” that was delivered with “full force”. He added that the use of force was “deliberate, unreasonable and unlawful”, causing Mr Holness’ death, and recorded a conclusion of unlawful killing.

Tracy Thames, of Hudgell Solicitors, is representing Holness’ family and has called for the CPS to launch a thorough reinvestigation. She said: “Ever since Riccardo’s death, his family has felt there has been a lack of full and proper investigation and it has taken almost three years to reach this important stage today, where a court has recognised that he died as the result of an unlawful act.

“A fresh, thorough investigation must now be opened by the Crown Prosecution Service, taking into account all the evidence which has been before this inquest.” Riccardo’s older sister Ramona Marsh, from Sevenoaks, has campaigned for criminal charges to be brought over the death of her brother.

She said: “Today feels like a first step towards justice for Riccardo, but it shouldn’t take almost three years of having to fight for any form of justice to reach this stage. Until this week, Riccardo’s attacker has been able to hide away from what he did on that night.

“Now, his actions have been considered in a court, and have been found to have been unlawful [...] Riccardo now needs us not to give up on securing justice for him, as we know he would have done for us.”