Age: 50
Sex: male
Date: 3 Jan 2016
Place: The Boat, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton
Darel Clarke died from head injuries after being punched in The Boat pub and then later falling off of his bicycle on the way to another pub and then having fallen off his bar stool in the Royal Tiger pub in Wednesfield.
A man was arrested in connection with his murder but later discharged.
It was said that it wasn't possible to say whether Darel Clarke's death was the result of the punch he received in The Boat pub or from later falling off of his silver bicycle on the way to the Royal Tiger pub about 100 yards down the road.
Darel Clarke had been attacked in the beer garden or smoking area of The Boat pub in Church Street in Wednesfield on Wednesday 31 December 2015 at about 10.30pm and died on Saturday 3 January 2016. He was punched after asking a man for some money. It was said that he had asked a man for some money and had become aggressive about it, and also that he had attacked the man, and that the man had then punched him once. It was said after the punch that Darel Clarke had had a cut under his eye.
After the incident at The Boat pub Darel Clarke was asked to leave and he cycled off to the Royal Tiger pub about 100 yards away, falling off his bicycle at some point along the way, although no one actually saw him fall off. It was said that he was helped up by someone near the Royal Tiger pub where he was seen in CCTV struggling to get to his feet.
It was noted that there had been a significant period of time between the incident at The Boat pub and the ambulance being called for him as he had continued to drink after the attack at the Royal Tiger pub until about 1am when he fell off of a bar stool. After paramedics arrived, Darel Clarke was taken to New Cross hospital where he died on Saturday 3 January 2016.
The police said that Darel Clarke had suffered from a serious head injury. He died from brain haemorrhage.
A 22-year-old man was arrested in connection with Darel Clarke's murder, but later released without charge after the police determined that they could not say exactly how Darel Clarke had come about the injuries from which he died.
The pathologist said, 'His injuries caused increased pressure in his skull and damage to his brain. I am unable to confirm that it was the punch that must have caused the bleed on the brain that caused his death, but I don't exclude it as a possibility. I consulted five colleagues who were all in agreement with me'. The pathologist also noted that injuries that Darel Clarke had received in 2014 following a fight that had left him in a four month coma did not contribute to his death.
At the inquest, the coroner said that it was not clear from the evidence what had caused Darel Clarke's death and returned an open verdict. He said, 'He died of a subdural brain haemorrhage, but I can't be sure in terms of which of the blows caused his death. I therefore have to leave an open conclusion'.
The woman that ran The Boat pub with her wife, said that when she went out to collect glasses at about 10.30pm, that she saw Darel Clarke sitting there on a bench with a cut to his cheek, but said that other people in the beer garden told her that he had fallen over. She said that when Darel Clarke tried to continue drinking at her pub he was refused service and that he left. She said that she would have called an ambulance for him but was told that he would have refused to have gotten into it and so didn't as she didn't want to waste anyone’s time.
Shortly after Darel Clarke was taken to hospital, the landlady said 'He doesn't drink in here very often, he just comes in to sell bits and bobs. He does his things and that's down to him. I had asked Darel to leave earlier in the night after he was harassing someone at the bar for a drink. I also tried to ring an ambulance for him after the incident, but he said he would refuse to get in it, so I didn't want to waste anybody's time. Since we took over in September it has been zero tolerance and no trouble. We have put our foot down and this is the first incident that's happened here. We would like to reassure our customers that we did everything to stop it happening. We had door staff on and it’s just unfortunate that it happened here'.
When a detective was later questioned, she said, 'Mr Clarke jumped on the man's back and threw a number of punches. The man turned around and punched him once, which knocked him out. He went to get water to throw over Mr Clarke, but he was already up. He left the pub to go to the Royal Tiger, two or three minutes away. He took his bike. Witnesses said people were asking him if he wanted an ambulance, but he refused. He went outside and got on his bike, but fell off, hitting his head. An ambulance was then called but Mr Clarke didn't get in initially because he wasn't allowed to take his bike on. Eventually he got in but vomited and passed out. He was found to have a bleed on the brain when he arrived at New Cross Hospital, and it was decided the following day that nothing could be done to save him, and his life support was turned off'.
It was noted that it was the second New Year’s Eve attack that Darel Clarke had been involved with after he was put into intensive care the previous year after being assaulted outside his home in West Avenue.
He was unemployed and he was known in the community as a man with a 'reputation'.
Darel Clarke was the father of a Sheffield United footballer who had also played for Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday. He had lived in West Avenue in Wednesfield.
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