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The sister of a man who died after a bar fight is calling for his case to be reinvestigated after three years with no charges.
Riccardo Holness, 42, was at a nightclub in Beckenham, Kent, when he was attacked at 1.20am on 17 October 2021. His friends, who owned the venue, carried out CPR on him before paramedics arrived and he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
Mr Holness was put on life support but died a month later, with a post-mortem examination giving the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head.
A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of GBH and bailed pending further enquiries, police said.
But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) discontinued the case after deciding there was not a realistic chance of conviction – to the heartbreak of Mr Holness’s grieving family.
Despite an appeal under the Victims’ Right to Review scheme, the decision not to charge the suspect was also upheld by an independent specialist prosecutor, a CPS spokesperson said.
Mr Holness’s sister, Ramona Marsh, 47, has set up a crowdfunder in the hope of getting his death re-examined and declared “unlawful” at his upcoming inquest in November.
While details of what led to the altercation are not clear, Ms Marsh told The Independent her brother had gone to the club that fateful night with a friend.
“He was outside and he was punched once to the head,” she said.
After being flown by air ambulance to hospital he spent nearly a month in a coma. During that time his sister visited his bedside every day, playing him his favourite music in the desperate hope he would regain consciousness. He passed away on 12 November.
“I am mystified as to why anyone would want to hurt him,” Ms Marsh said. “No one has ever been charged. I need an explanation, because anyone who knows him knows he would never start trouble. He always kept his cool, so for this to happen to him doesn’t make sense.”
She said pursuing justice for his death “wouldn’t bring my brother back but it would bring us closure”, adding: “The last three years we haven’t had any. To know your loved one has been taken away and nobody has been held to account is too much to take.
“He had such a good sense of humour – he would chat with anybody, from a kid he has been outgoing. He had a very big heart and was very generous – he put himself out to help other people. An old woman told me he used to do the shopping for her every week and now she’s been left alone.
“It was just the two of us growing up. He was the baby of the family. It has been so difficult for my mum. He would be doing this for me if it was the other way around. He would not rest until he got justice. I used to always look out for him at school. If anyone picked on him I would step in.
“My brother was genuinely a caring person, he was selfless. We need to give him the best chance to get justice. We are fighting for him but we need help – we can’t do it on our own.”
Ms Marsh said being told that the CPS had discontinued the case was hard.
“They took a caring, lovely person away from his family, friends and community for no reason whatsoever,” she said.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with Riccardo’s family following his death.
“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 CPS, who decided that the case should be discontinued.”
The GoFundMe page has a goal of reaching £10,000 before the inquest hearing at a coroner’s court.
A CPS spokesperson said: “Our sympathies remain with Mr Holness’s family for the tragic loss they have suffered.
“We can only bring a prosecution when there is a realistic prospect of securing a conviction – our prosecutors reviewed this case with diligence and care, and concluded there was no realistic prospect of conviction on the evidence available.
“We recognise this has been difficult for Mr Holness’s family, and we have taken care to keep them informed of our decision-making throughout the process.”
