Police reclassify death of man, 39, found with serious head injuries as a homicide – bringing London’s 2019 murder toll to 147
- Lee Styles of Surbiton was found suffering serious head injuries and later died
- Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder and released on bail
- Lee Styles’ death brings the murder toll in 2019 to 147
Lee Styles, 39, of Surbiton, (pictured) was found suffering serious head injuries in Fishponds Park shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 December
Police are treating the death of a man found critically injured in Surbiton as a homicide.
Lee Styles, 39, of Surbiton, was found suffering serious injuries in Fishponds Park shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 December.
Police and the London Ambulance Service attended and he was taken to hospital with head injuries.
He was pronounced dead on the afternoon of Thursday, 19 December. His next of kin have been informed.
A post-mortem examination held on 23 December gave cause of death as head injuries.
It brings London’s murder toll from last year to 147.
September and June were the joint bloodiest months of the year in the capital with 17 homicides each, followed by July which had 16 and March with 15.
The 2019 rate broke last year’s total of 133 by early December – and is the highest level recorded since 2008 when Scotland Yard investigated 154 deaths.
The death of Lee Styles, 39, of Surbiton, brings London’s murder toll from last year up to 147
The youngest murder victim was Riley Fauvrell, who died aged just five days after being delivered by an emergency C-section in Thornton Heath, South London.
Riley’s mother Kelly Mary Fauvrelle, 26, was stabbed to death in June while pregnant with him. Her ex-partner Aaron McKenzie, 25, has since pleaded not guilty to murder.
The oldest victim was Dorothy Woolmer, 89, who was raped and murdered at home in Tottenham in August. Reece Dempster, 23, was charged but has not yet pleaded.
Some 17 of the victims were children – including 12 teenagers and five youngsters aged under two – and the mean average age of all 147 people killed was 32.
The year began with two murders in the first six hours of 2019 on New Years’s Day, with Tudor Simionov, 33, and Charlotte Huggins, 32, killed in Mayfair and Camberwell respectively.
January was the second quietest month for murders with only eight – above only October, which saw six. The final month of the year saw 14 homicides.
Homicide detectives from Specialist Crime officially took on the investigation into Lee Styles’ death on 27 December.
Detective Chief Inspector Justin Howick. DCI Howick said: ‘We are piecing together the circumstances surrounding Lee’s death but believe he was assaulted.
‘I would appeal to anyone who may have any information to assist us.’If you were in the vicinity of Fishponds Park during the afternoon of Wednesday, 18 December, or perhaps you saw Lee around the area, then please call us.
‘This was around two weeks ago so I ask all local residents and users of the park to think back to that date.
‘Even a sighting of Lee or anything suspicious around that time could help us piece together what happened. ‘An 18-year-old man [A] and a 41-year-old man [B] have been arrested on suspicion of murder and released on bail to return on a date in January.
‘Anyone with information is asked to contact officers via the incident room 020 8785 8244.
‘To remain 100 per cent anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.’