the moose

This is definitely NSR, but I'm trying to spread the word.

The following is from an official Herts Constabulary handout

"At around 2.20am on Christmas morning, 30-year-old Christopher Mason was assaulted in Market Street, Watford.

He died on 31 December in hospital.

Police are keen to speak to:

*three Asian males who came to Christopher's aid just after the assault
*a male cyclist in Market Street
*a young woman using a mobile phone near to where the assault took place

Anyone who saw ANYTHING which could help the investigation is asked to call 01923 472041 or 472049. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111"

I knew Chris a little, and was horrified to hear of his death. If you know anything, have heard aything from anyone else, or were just around Market Street at around that time, please assist if possible.

Chris didn't drive a Scoob, didn't frequent this BBS - but there are many on Scoobynet who are from the area. If you'd ever visited Cyclopedia, the cycle shop in Merton Road, you'd have met him. 6'3", bright red hair, thoroughly nice bloke. And a life snuffed out because of a drunken fool who thought having a punchup on the way home was a laugh.

Leslie

Sorry to hear about it Moose. I can't help in any way but just want to say that this sort of thing is becoming too prevalent now. There are too many people about now with no idea of self control and who have no regard for others in any way.

Time the authorities got hiold of this "nettle" and did something really positive before they lose all control and the place turns into a Mad Max country.

Les

the moose

Cheers, Les. The worst thing about all of this is that it's all so totally unneccessary - people just don't think about the consequences of their actions. In this case the assailant punched Chris just the once (so I understand), which caused him to fall, hitting his head on the edge of a low wall. Chris was looked after superbly by medical staff (you'll never again question your tax bill when the've seen the NHS in action in a REAL emergency), but after a series of operations it was apparent that the brain trauma was too severe and that the damage done was irreversible.

I'm quite sure that no permanent damage was intended, and the thought of killing someone would never have entered the attacker's head. A jail sentence will not bring Chris back, and unless you had police on every single street corner, the attack could not have been prevented.

The only way this could have been stopped is through either fear of the consequences, or through education. In this instance the assailant wouldn't be deterred by the thought of "I'll go to life for murder" because there's no way they'd expect such an outcome. The education bit, which would possibly work better, is to use examples such as these to point out to kids at an early age that violence isn't big, clever, or as clean and easy to survive as Hollywood pretends.