'I miss him so much' - mother's heartache after son, 22, dies following Crawley street fight

Thomas Kelly, who had undergone a heart transplant when he was just three years old, had a heart attack and collapsed after a brawl in the town in 2017. He died two weeks later.

Two men were found not guilty on charges of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm without intent following a trial at Hove Crown Court. A third man was found not guilty of affray.

Angelika Kelly says she misses Thomas “so much” and paid tribute to her son. She described the 22-year-old, who was a father to three young children, as “someone who would help anyone”.

“I looked after him from the day he was born and to lose him [in that way] is just heartbreaking. I’m struggling to move on,” she said. “He always tried to help people, that’s just the way he was. He always tried to do his best.”

Ms Kelly, who marked her 46th birthday on the day two men walked free from court after being acquitted of manslaughter charges, described how Thomas, of Poundhill, Crawley, received a heart transplant from the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals in Middlesex when he was just three years old after he was born with an enlarged heart.

Thomas Kelly, pictured in hospital two days before the attack

She said everything was fine with her first-born child for several years until he started to “collapse and could not breathe” shortly before he was three.

“The doctors were great and we were told the heart came from Belgium,” she said. “Thomas had to attend the hospital and Great Ormond Street [Children’s Hospital, London] for many years for treatment and check-ups, which he didn’t find easy.”

A jury at Hove Crown court was told the street fight on October 21, 2017, followed on from an earlier altercation the previous evening in which two rival groups confronted each other, with one man allegedly wielding a baseball bat.

“Every day is a struggle,” Ms Kelly added. “Life just isn’t the same anymore. To listen to the evidence was very distressing and heartbreaking.

“It was always the three of us – me, Tom and [his sister] Chelsea – and now there’s always someone missing. The last four years since Tom died have been truly awful, and the whole criminal justice process has really affected my mental health.”

Thomas Kelly died following a street fight in Crawley High Street in October 2017 Ms Kelly broke down several times while sitting in court listening to evidence during the case, and was supported by Sussex Police family liaison officers and her daughter Chelsea, 21, who described her brother as “fiercely protective”.

She said: “He was always looking out for me – picked me up from school, and looked after me – all the things a dad would do.

“We used to do all the things brothers and sisters do – including bickering and play-fighting - but I’ll remember all the good times we had together.

“My mum and I are just glad the trial is over and Tom is now at peace.”

READ MORE: Crawley men are accused of manslaughter