Assault did not kill handyman

10:26am Wednesday 3rd December 2008

A handyman died of a heart attack a month after he was viciously assaulted in an unprovoked attack.

David Head, 48, collapsed and died while at work on December 6, 2006, after telling his colleague he felt unwell.

An inquest at Eastbourne Coroner’s Court was told how Mr Head was brutally beaten outside his flat on November 2, 2006, when he went to investigate the sound of smashing glass.

Mr Head was left unconscious with a broken jaw and smashed teeth after he was attacked with a plastic floor cleaning sign and kicked repeatedly in the head. Three men and one woman were all found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent and jailed by a judge at Hove Crown Court in March.

The hearing was told that following the assault outside Glynleigh in Ashton Rise, Brighton, Mr Head became withdrawn, would sleep for up to 18 hours a day, suffered from severe headaches and struggled to go to work.

He visited the doctor on several occasions between the assault and his death, complaining of headaches.

His mother Angela Wesson said her son had been “happy-go-lucky” before the assault but afterwards she only saw him three times, the inquest was told.

She said he was morose and hardly spoke. He had also complained of hearing voices in his head.

The inquest was told Mr Head had been taking anti-depressants on and off for a number of years. He had also complained of chest pains in 2002 and he was a heavy smoker and drinker.

On December 6, he and Charles Mitton were working in the garden of a house in Cliff Park Close, Peacehaven, when Mr Mitton heard a scream and saw his colleague collapse.

A post-mortem examination showed Mr Head’s heart was slightly enlarged and one of his arteries was 60% blocked.

Fatty deposits were also found in his liver, the inquest was told.

Pathologist Peter Jerreat said: “His collapse and death were subject to an acute cardiac event.”

He said the headaches suffered by Mr Head were likely to be down to white matter damage in the brain, although this would not have killed him.

East Sussex Coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of natural causes, saying the death was due to acute heart failure related to an arrhythmia.