Trafalgar Square attack victim dies launching murder probe

  • Desmond O’Beirne, 51, never regained consciousness after the attack on June 3
  • CCTV footage shows two men assaulting him outside London’s National Gallery
  • He died last month and police are trying to trace Mr O’Beirne’s attackers 

A murder investigation has been launched after a man assaulted in a ‘mindless’ attack in Trafalgar Square last year died in hospital.

Desmond O’Beirne never regained consciousness after suffering a devastating head injury when he was kicked and punched by two men outside the National Gallery in central London, in the early hours of June 3.

The 51-year-old, from Westminster, failed to recover in hospital and died from his injuries on December 20.

Shocking CCTV footage of the attack at 12.25am showed one suspect punching Mr O’Beirne in the back of the head, while the second kicked him as he lay on the pavement.

A post-mortem at Westminster Mortuary, conducted on January 3, revealed the cause of death to be a head injury.

Scotland Yard said the first suspect had his hair in a ‘top knot’ style and was wearing a red t-shirt, dark trousers and light-coloured shoes.

The second man was wearing a black jacket with a white emblem on the right shoulder, and white writing with a picture on the rear. He was also wearing a white top under the jacket, dark trousers and dark shoes with white soles.

Detectives have called for the public’s help in tracing Mr O’Beirne’s attackers and have called on anyone who witnessed the attack, or events either side of it, to come forward with information, mobile phone images or footage.

Shocking CCTV footage of the attack showed one bearded suspect punching Mr O’Beirne in the back of the head, while the second suspect kicked him as he lay on the pavement

DCI Noel McHugh of the Metropolitan Police’s major crime command said: ‘These two men will have spoken to friends and partners and possibly boasted about their mindless attack. I want you to call us with their names.

‘The males are distinctive and will be known to their group that evening. Desmond never regained consciousness after the brutal attack and it is vital we bring his attackers to justice.’ 

Anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8785 8099. To give information anonymously they can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.

They can also tweet information via @MetCC.

Desmond O'Beirne never recovered after suffering a devastating head injury when he was kicked and punched by the two men

Desmond O’Beirne never recovered after suffering a devastating head injury when he was kicked and punched by the two men

Detectives have called for the public's help in tracing Mr O'Beirne's attackers and have called on anyone who witnessed the attack to come come forward with information

Detectives have called for the public’s help in tracing Mr O’Beirne’s attackers and have called on anyone who witnessed the attack to come come forward with information



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