Heartbroken widow, 57, tells how thug killed her Christmas-loving managing director husband, 52, with one punch at works festive bash – as she warns drinkers to ‘walk away’ from trouble
- Christine Edwards watched as her husband was knocked to the floor by punch
- Vaughan Edwards, 52, was hit by David Jenkins, 38, in unprovoked attack
- He died weeks after the sickening attack on his birthday on December 23, 2017
A widow is urging people to ‘walk away from trouble’ at Christmas parties after her husband was killed by a single punch in an unprovoked attack.
Christine Edwards, 57, watched as her husband Vaughan was knocked to the floor at their company’s Christmas party.
The company director, 52, was assaulted by David Jenkins, 38, in the unprovoked attack on his birthday on December 23, 2017.
Mrs Edwards said the festive season was her husband’s favourite time of year and he had been ‘meticulously’ planning a Christmas Eve meal and looking forward to celebrating the big day with their children and grandson.
Now Mrs Edwards is backing a police campaign urging people to ‘just walk away’ from any trouble at festive parties.
Christine Edwards, 57, watched as her husband Vaughan was knocked to the floor at their company’s Christmas party. He died weeks later
The company director, 52, was assaulted by David Jenkins in the unprovoked attack on his birthday on December 23, 2017
Managing director Mr Edwards was attacked when he took employees from his soil testing company out for a meal.
He had got into a row outside the Vista Lounge hotel and restaurant before being punched by Jenkins.
David Jenkins killed Mr Edwards after hitting him in an unprovoked attack
His heartbroken family had to spend Christmas Day in hospital and he died four weeks later, on January 17.
Mother-of-two Mrs Edwards said: ‘It was horrendous. He went down and he wasn’t getting up. I told my daughter Emma ‘he’s gone’ – I just knew it.
‘He was a 6ft tall, strong man, and he was just lying there. I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Christmas will never be the same – nothing ever will.’
Mrs Edwards said the festive season was her husband’s favourite time of year, and said the ‘gentle giant’ loved to put a Christmas tree in every room of the home and proudly display his Bing Crosby ornament.
Mrs Edwards, from Llanelli, South Wales, said: ‘Every Christmas had a theme and he’d gone all out to make sure we had everything for a perfect day.
‘He was going to cook a big meal on Christmas Eve, and had written the menu up on a board in the kitchen – we couldn’t bring ourselves to wipe it off for ages after.
‘The cake he had made is still in the freezer. It doesn’t feel right to get rid of it.
‘To anyone else, the house still looked as if we were celebrating Christmas as normal, but we were living a nightmare.
Mr Edwards, pictured here with family, loved the festive season and had spent weeks preparing to celebrate Christmas
She said the couple watched Vaughan’s favourite film It’s a Wonderful Life together just weeks before he died.
She added: ‘On the back of his gravestone I had engraved ‘It was a wonderful life’, because life really was wonderful with him in it.’
Mrs Edwards is now backing the Just Walk Away campaign by Dyfed-Powys Police – aiming to tackle alcohol-related attacks.
She added: ‘I want people to know what a good person he was. Our world has been turned upside down.’
Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Phil Rowe, of the force, said: ‘If you get into a confrontational situation on a night out, please be the bigger person and just walk away.’
Jenkins of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, was jailed for five years and three months by Judge Keith Thomas at Swansea Crown Court.