Fight at the opera
AN OXFORD-EDUCATED lawyer has been convicted of punching a fashion designer during a row over an empty seat at the Royal Opera House.
Matthew Feargrieve, 43, was yesterday found guilty of hitting Ulrich Engler in a violent attack that left the German so shaken he has since been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.
The investments fund lawyer punched Mr Engler in the shoulder as he moved to a vacant seat next to Feargrieve’s partner and moved her coat on to her lap.
During the hearing at the City of London magistrates court the high-profile lingerie designer said the assault happened just as the performance of Wagner’s Siegfried started. He said: “I climbed over the seat when the lights were dimming. The conductor was on the floor and the music had started.
“I received blows on my left shoulder. I turned around and saw Mr Feargrieve standing up and assaulting me.
“They were very hard blows. I have never seen somebody looking with so much anger at me.”
Feargrieve had allegedly said to Mr Engler: “How dare you speak to my wife like that?”
Feargrieve and his wife left the venue in Covent Garden, central
London, 10 minutes into the performance. Mr Engler, who had been entertaining clients, was arrested during the opera’s first interval and later banned from the Opera House.
The charges were dropped two weeks after the incident in October last year and the ban rescinded.
Feargrieve, of Barnes, west London, was then charged with two counts of assault, which he denied.
Elaine McMaster, a witness and friend of Mr Engler, told the court: “People don’t behave like that at the local cinema, never mind the opera house.” Finding against the lawyer yesterday, District Judge John Zani said: “I accept the evidence of the prosecution witnesses when they say you did punch Mr Engler at least once.”
In a victim impact it emerged that Mr Engler, who has lived in the UK for almost 40 years, is now suffering from PTSD. He said: “I received numerous sessions of counselling. I am still anxious when in public. I’m not the easy going person I was.”
Released on unconditional bail, Feargrieve will appear at Westminster magistrates court on January 22 for sentencing.