unsolved-murders.co.uk
Unsolved Murders
Tags

Douglas McPherson

Age: 42

Sex: male

Date: 26 Dec 2001

Place: London Tavern, Hackney

Douglas McPherson was killed in the London Tavern in Hackney on Boxing Day.

A man was tried for his murder but acquitted. It was noted that he was not charged with having actually inflicting the blows that killed Douglas McPherson, but rather on the basis of joint enterprise.

Douglas McPherson died after four men burst into a pub and attacked him and another man. He was hit over the head with a baseball bat and taken to hospital where he later died. The other man survived.

It was said that there were fifteen regular drinkers in the London Tavern at the time who all fled to the toilets when the four men came into the pub and only one witness was said to have provided evidence saying that the man tried was one of the attackers. At the trial a barrister noted that the eye witness evidence was inconsistent.

The man that was tried for his murder had earlier been thrown out of the London Tavern for hogging the punch bowl. Whilst outside he had also had an argument with his ex-girlfriend and her family and had then gone home. However, his mother said that after he got home she had to wrestle him down to stop him going back to the pub saying that he was furious that his ex-girlfriend and her family had sided with the landlord over him being thrown out and that he had wanted to go back and finish the argument with them. His mother said that she knew judo and that her son was paralytic at the time. She said that she had sat on him for a good couple of hours until he calmed down and went to sleep.

The man later blamed his brother who had since vanished. However, it was noted that he had not blamed him until 10-months after he had been arrested.

It was also heard that the man who was tried's brother was alleged to have said that he had been involved with the attack and that he had admitted smashing the punch bowl to pieces.

After the trial the police refused to comment on whether they would continue the murder investigation to look for the man's brother.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.