David Hodge

David Hodge died following an assault during the Brixton Riots on 28 September 1985. He later died on 17 October 1985.

He had been hit on the head with some masonry.

However, it was heard that his death might have been caused by the bursting of an aneurysm, brought about by the stress of the situation, and not the injuries he received and a man that was tried for his murder was ordered to be cleared by the judge. However, the man was still tried for stealing his Nikon camera, lens and motor winder but the jury failed to agree and a retrial was ordered.

David Hodge had been photographing looters at a parade of shops at the time. He had been a freelance photographer and had been on his first assignment for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

He was attacked whilst photographing youths ripping metal grilles from the front of a jeweller's shop and the police believed that two of his cameras had been taken. It was reported that he had been attacked by possibly a dozen black youths.

He died in hospital on 17 October 1985. He had been certified brain dead at 6pm on 16 October and his heart stopped beating at 1.25am on 17 October 1985. Following his death two men were arrested.

He was noted as being the second person to die in riots in London that month and the fourth person to die in riots in Britain that year.

David Hodge was born in Brazil and had been living in Mile End Road. He had previously been doing a PhD but his grant came to an end and he took up photography.

The man tried for his murder, an 18-year-old security guard, had been the son of an international concert pianist. He was about to appear in court charged with stealing David Hodge's camera when he was also charged with unlawful killing. His father was also charged with trying to pervert the course of justice.

He was said to have kicked and punched David Hodge. A friend of David Hodge said that David Hodge had thought that he had been hit with a karate blow.

His friend said:

Following the attack he was taken to Kings College Hospital suffering from multiple bruising to the head but was discharged 48 hours later after doctors failed to find any serious injuries and he went home to his parents in Amersham, it being noted that his mother had been a trained nurse.

However, his parents said that it became clear to them that he was not well and that he was still suffering from acute pain to the head and neck, and was drowsy. He was then taken to a local hospital after which he was transferred to Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where he died on 17 October 1985 following an operation on his brain. He had fallen into a coma a week before his death and was put on life support before the operation was carried out.

Following his death his organs, heart and lungs, were donated for a transplant operation, his heart being given to a 50-year-old woman doctor.

The editor of the Sunday Telegraph said: