Family of Beckenham assault victim want justice three years on from death

The family of a man who died following an assault three years ago say they have been "left without answers" and are now raising money for legal representation ahead of an inquest into his death.

Riccardo Holness sustained head injuries during an alleged attack after a night out with his friends in Beckenham in October 2021.

The 42-year-old was rushed to hospital in a critical condition where he was put on a life support machine and died nearly a month later on November 12 2021.

Riccardo's sister, Ramona Marsh, said: "It's our way of getting some answers, to seek some justice for Riccardo and to also get some closure which we desperately need."

A man was arrested following on from Riccardo's death but has since been released, with the Metropolitan Police saying the case is discontinued.

"As his big sister, I've always been there from when we were kids to look out for him and I just wasn't able to do that for him this time," said Ms Marsh.

Riccardo went on a night out, where he was allegedly 'punched once to the head' and 'fell back and broke his back in three places and fractured his skull'.

The family feel that the police didn't treat the incident as a homicide, and ignored 'crucial' information from witnesses.

"This is really upsetting for us," she continued.

"We feel that we need to do something ourselves as a family because we're not getting it anywhere else, so we're left with no alternative but to seek justice the best we can."

The Met police told ITV News : "A thorough investigation was carried out into the circumstances surrounding the incident which led to Riccardo’s death.

"This included analysing CCTV and speaking to those who were present and witnessed the incident."All the evidence was presented to the Crown Prosecution Service who decided that the case should be discontinued."

The money is being raised for legal representation when In November, a coroner's court will decided whether Riccardo's death was lawful or unlawful.

Riccardo's family hope an unlawful death decision will influence the police to re-open the case.

"We were hoping something would be done, and to know that nothing is going to be done is tearing us apart."

Ms Marsh remembers Riccardo as "charismatic" and someone that would "go out of his way to help anyone."

She added: "I think initially we were shocked we couldn't believe something like this happened, but we couldn't believe it happened to somebody like Riccardo."

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