One punch killed the love of my life in a heartbeat
Girlfriend weeps as violent thug is jailed for 6 years
THE girlfriend of banker Oliver Dearlove wept yesterday as the thug who killed him with a single punch was jailed for six years.
Claire Wheatley sobbed as she spoke of the agony of watching her “handsome and amazing” boyfriend’s life slip away.
Ms Wheatley said: “Losing Oli has left me with nothing. I have not only lost my boyfriend, the man I was meant to marry and start a family and future with, I have also lost my best friend.”
Mr Dearlove, 30, suffered fatal injuries when Trevor Timon, 31, punched him in an unprovoked attack outside a bar in Blackheath, south London.
He was rushed to hospital and died fewer than 24 hours later.
Ms Wheatley, a nurse, added: “I will never be able to find it in my heart to forgive the actions of that one individual because I feel to do so would be to accept what happened. I cannot accept that one punch took away the love of my life in a heartbeat.”
The banker’s mother Joy Wright said yesterday: “Timon may as well have used a gun or a knife, the damage he did. He just walked away casually without a thought or care for what he had done.”
Timon, who has a history of violence, admitted manslaughter but denied murder.
He was cleared of murder on Wednesday after telling an Old Bailey jury he had no idea of the damage his fists could do.
His brother Wesley, 32, is serving life for stabbing a teenage boy to death.
Judge Mark Dennis yesterday told Timon that the killing of Mr Dearlove was “an unprovoked and gratuitous act”.
He added: “This was a senseless death that occurred as a result of an act borne out of a deep flaw in your character.
“This has seen you in the past display unnecessary aggressive and violent conduct towards others when, for reasons best known to you, you became annoyed.
“You aimed a deliberate punch to his head, the force of which caused multiple tearing of arteries at the base of his skull, in effect rendering him unconscious at the moment the blow landed. The fatal injuries were caused before he had even landed on the pavement.”
The judge paid tribute to the victim, calling him “a young man of fine character with a long and promising future ahead of him”.
Mr Dearlove, of New Eltham, south London, was a relationship manager for a private bank.
He had formerly worked for the Queen’s banker Coutts.
He was attacked in August last year during a night out with two friends. They were on their way home when they fell into a “polite and friendly” conversation with a group of women outside a bar.
Timon, who knew one of the girls, approached the group. He told the banker, “I’m going to knock you out” and attacked him.
Timon, of Plumstead, south London, had 12 previous convictions.