Grieving daughter tells dad’s killer she will never forgive him - Andrew Clark died in violent attack at Sainsbury’s

A grieving daughter has told her father’s killer she will never forgive him for taking away her dad - in an attack over pushing into a supermarket queue. Andrew Clark, 43, died after suffering severe head injuries when he was struck by Demiesh Williams at a Sainsbury’s store in Beckenham, south east London.

Williams, 30, told Mr Clark he would “take him outside” after Andrew told him to wait his turn at the store, Woolwich Crown Court heard. Bus driver Williams returned to his car, where a child was waiting, and covered his face before returning.

CCTV footage showed him grab Mr Clark with one hand and strike him with force with the other, causing him to fall back and hit his head. The injury left Mr Clark ‘brain dead’, doctors said, and he died three days later as a result of his injuries.

His family gave heart-breaking statements to the court, describing him as a 'dedicated and loving' husband and father.

Williams admitted a charge of manslaughter and will be sentenced at a later date. During a court hearing, Mr Clark's 14-year-old daughter told her father’s killer that though he would one day walk free, he had “destroyed” her family.

“I was 13 when my dad was violently killed,” she said in a statement read to the court by her aunt. I had to spend my 14th birthday without him. “Talking about my dad makes me feel sad, scared and anxious. I pull out my hair because, for that brief moment, it takes the pain away from my heart and puts it into my head.

“The violent attack happened at the shops I have to walk past every morning on my way to school. My dad was not just my dad. He was my best friend. We did everything together. Whatever we did was always fun because we were together.

“He was creative and loved to cook. Everybody loved his Christmas turkey and Sunday roasts. Sundays were warm, but now they are cold and empty. No one can cook like my dad. How can memories be all I have left?

“You did this to my dad. My dad was the most generous man I know. I don’t want to live my life without him. I think about all the moments my dad will not be there for. The moment that hurts the most is my wedding day. He will never walk me down the aisle, and that is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.

“My dad taught me everything about life. I can’t forgive what you did to him. Is this really how you deal with something as simple as being spoken to about fairness?

“You got to keep your family, while you destroyed mine in the cruellest way. Because of your manslaughter plea, you will probably be released before you turn the age my dad was when you hit him. I just want my dad back.”

The court heard lifelong Newcastle United fan Mr Clark had watched his club’s Carabao Cup victory on March 16 with his family at home in Beckenham. Alistair Richardson, prosecuting, told the court he and his wife went to a Sainsbury’s store near their home to buy some food for the following day after the match.

After the pair split at the store, to meet at the tills, Mr Richardson said Mrs Clark found her husband arguing with Williams at the tills, after trying to cut in at the front. Mr Clark told him, “You need to queue”, the court heard, but that Williams stayed where he was. “Mr Clark repeated that he needed to queue and seemed annoyed," Mr Richardson said. "Mrs Clark sought to diffuse the situation.”

After saying something to his wife about Williams coming the wrong way, Mr Richardson said the defendant appeared to get ‘really angry’. He said: “Another customer in the queue heard [Williams] threaten Mr Clark, saying 'I’ll wipe that off your face’ and 'I’ll see you outside’.”

Witnesses described seeing Williams walk to his parked car, get something out, and return to the store as Mr Clark was leaving.

“Mr Clark was a couple of steps ahead of his wife,” Mr Richardson continued. “Mrs Clark saw the defendant coming towards her husband. He was striding with intent - striding towards him.

“He had a face covering on. He hit Mr Clark on the side of his head. All she could hear was the noise. He did not try to break his fall or anything. He was just knocked out.”

Mr Richardson added that an experienced CCTV officer viewed the footage of the attack and deemed it a ‘slap’ with an ‘open hand’ rather than a punch. Another witness, using a nearby cash machine, said he heard a ‘crack’ as Mr Clark’s head hit the floor, followed by Williams saying: “I told you to f***ing apologise”.

Mr Clark was rushed to the hospital, but died three days later from a ‘catastrophic’ brain injury. Williams was later arrested at a house in Croydon, south London, and charged two days later. He denied murder, but later admitted a charge of manslaughter. Williams, a father-of-three himself, will be sentenced next week at the same court.

Mr Clark’s sister, Lyndsey Clark, called for ‘demonic’ Williams to receive the maximum sentence for his 'random, inhumane attack', adding that anything less would ‘add to the punishment’ of the family.

Fighting back tears, teaching assistant Mrs Clark told Williams she would never forgive him for killing her husband. “You will not receive a life sentence today, but I have one,” she said. “I will live with this for the rest of my life. This is the life you forced me to have. You tore [Andrew] away from us.

“I watched you kill my beloved Andrew, held him in my arms as blood came out of his ear. I was taken away in a police car, covered in Andrew’s blood. I watched my husband die in my arms. I saw you march across that road. The child [in your car] saw you do it. You killed him. I will never understand why you didn’t just walk away that day.

“You killed him with your open hand. Your body was the weapon, yet after taking a man’s life with your bare hands, you will be allowed to walk the streets.

“A monster killed our Andrew and that monster is you. You are a coward. You are a killer. You are a monster. I will never forgive you and never forget the damage that you did. You will walk free one day, but [my daughter] and I never will. You have committed us to a lifetime of pain.”

His Honour Judge Andrew Lees told Williams he faces a lengthy custodial sentence for his crimes, which he will hand down next week.