A court statement from a man’s 14-year-old daughter has told of her grief since her dad was killed following a row in a supermarket – hours after watching his beloved Newcastle United
A young girl has told the ‘monster’ who killed her father in an unprovoked supermarket attack she will never forgive him for taking him away.
Andrew Clark, 43, died from a severe head injuries after Demiesh Williams struck the ‘generous’ dad with an open palm after an argument about him pushing in line. The Newcastle United fan was attacked after the club’s Carabao Cup victory in March.
Williams, 30, told Mr Clark he would ‘take him outside’ after Andrew told him to wait his turn at the Sainsbury’s store in Beckenham, south east London. Woolwich Crown Court heard bus driver Williams returned to his car, where a child was waiting, and covered his face before returning to the store.
Footage showed him grab Mr Clark with one hand and strike him with force with the other, causing him to fall back and hit his head. Mr Clark died three days later of his injuries, after being declared brain dead.
His family gave heart-breaking statements to the court, describing him as a ‘dedicated and loving’ husband and father. Mr Clark’s 14-year-old daughter told Williams that though he would one day walk free, he had ‘destroyed’ her family in the ‘cruellest way possible’. I was 13 when my dad was violently killed,” Mr Clark’s daughter said in a statement read to the court by her aunt.
“I had to spend my 14th birthday without him. Talking about my dad makes me feel sad, scared and anxious. I pull out my hair because, for that brief moment, it takes the pain away from my heart and puts it into my head.
“The violent attack happened at the shops I have to walk past every morning on my way to school. My dad was not just my dad. He was my best friend. We did everything together.
“Whatever we did was always fun because we were together. He was creative and loved to cook. Everybody loved his Christmas turkey and Sunday roasts. Sundays were warm, but now they are cold and empty. No one can cook like my dad. How can memories be all I have left?”
She added: “You did this to my dad. My dad was the most generous man I know. I don’t want to live my life without him. I think about all the moments my dad will not be there for.
“The moment that hurts the most is my wedding day. He will never walk me down the aisle, and that is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.
“My dad taught me everything about life. I can’t forgive what you did to him Is this really how you deal with something as simple as being spoken to about fairness?
“You got to keep your family, while you destroyed mine in the cruellest way. Because of your manslaughter plea, you will probably be released before you turn the age my dad was when you hit him. I just want my dad back.”
The court heard Mr Clark, a lifelong Newcastle United fan, had watched his club’s long-awaited Carabao Cup victory on March 16 with his family at home in Beckenham.
Alistair Richardson, prosecuting, told the court he and his wife went to Sainsbury’s near their home to buy food for the following day after the match. Mr Clark, wearing a Newcastle top, and wife Cairistine (corr) Clark entered the store together and then split up, meeting again at the tills.
Mr Richardson said Mrs Clark found her husband arguing with Williams at the tills, after trying to cut in at the front. He said: “Another customer in the queue heard [Williams] threaten Mr Clark, saying ‘I’ll wipe that off your face’ and ‘I’ll see you outside’.”
Witnesses described seeing Williams walk to his parked car, get something out, and return to the store as Mr Clark was leaving. Mr Richardson added that an experienced CCTV officer viewed the footage of the attack and deemed it a ‘slap’ with an ‘open hand’ rather than a punch.
Mr Clark was rushed to the hospital, but died three days later from a ‘catastrophic’ brain injury. Williams was later arrested at a house in Croydon, south London, and charged two days later.
He denied murder, but later admitted a charge of manslaughter. Williams, a father-of-three, will be sentenced next week at the same court. Judge Andrew Lees told Williams he faces a lengthy custodial sentence for his crimes.
