Banker’s last text to girlfriend before a stranger’s punch killed him
Police hunt four women who witnessed attack after night out
A BANKER died from a single punch when he was confronted by a stranger hours after texting his girlfriend to say he loved her.
Oliver Dearlove, 30, a former employee of royal bank Coutts, was walking home with friends after a night out when he was knocked down in the street.
His friends tried to resuscitate him after he appeared to stop breathing and an ambulance was called.
Mr Dearlove was taken to hospital but doctors were unable to save him.
Police have launched a murder investigation and appealed last night for a group of up to four women who witnessed the attack, in a road called Tranquil Vale in Blackheath, south- east London, to come forward. Mr Dearlove and his friends had exchanged some remarks with the group moments before the attack.
Scotland Yard detectives are trying to identify the attacker as Mr Dearlove’s family struggle to come to terms with their loss. His heartbroken mother Joy Wright, 56, from Chislehurst, south-east London, described her son as a ‘perfect young man’. She said: ‘ He was very popular, he was easygoing, he had a lot of friends. He worked hard, he was the perfect son. We can’t believe what’s happened. We’re all in a state of shock.’
Mrs Wright said her son, who lived with his girlfriend of four years, Claire Wheatley, in Eltham, had everything to live for and was days from jetting off on holiday to the US. ‘ He was going to Vegas next week with his friends,’ she said. ‘He played lots of football, he got on with everyone, he was a perfect young man.
‘He had so many plans with his girlfriend as well, they were talking about getting a house together and having a baby.’
Mr Dearlove, a relationship manager for Belgravia-based private bank Duncan Lawrie, had spent Saturday evening with friends in Blackheath.
Police said he was attacked at about 12.45am on Sunday as the group walked towards the train station along Tranquil Vale, a road which would have been busy with other revellers.
Last night no details had been revealed of the individual who attacked Mr Dearlove. He was airlifted to an east London hospital but was pronounced dead at 10pm. Describing what she knew of the attack Mrs Wright, who used to work for a financial consultancy, said her son had been out with friends from university. ‘They met up in Blackheath, had lunch, dinner, some drinks,’ she said. ‘At 10pm he texted his girlfriend to say he loved her. I don’t think there was any kind of altercation or fight.
‘ Someone picked a fight with him, punched him, and he fell backwards, maybe hit his head, and that was that. I think he stopped breathing when he hit the floor. His friends tried to give him CPR to save him but nothing could be done.’ Mrs Wright said she understood there was ‘no real confrontation’. She said: ‘I think someone might have said to his friends something like ‘‘what are you looking at?’’.’
Mr Dearlove studied business management at the University of Portsmouth before settling on a career in banking, with his first job at Barclays Wealth Management. He and Miss Wheatley had met at a New Year’s Eve party. His text message to her on Saturday night had said simply ‘love you’.
She said: ‘ We were trying to get some money together so we could buy a house together. We had big plans. We were planning on having a baby as well. He was the kindest, most amazing person I’ve ever known. I’m so lucky to have known him.’
She added: ‘He and his friends aren’t the kind of guys who look for trouble. They like having a good time and a bit of banter. But he would normally cower away from any altercation.’
Mr Dearlove played football for local team Lord Hood FC. He had three brothers, two step-brothers and a step- sister. Colleagues at Duncan Lawrie said they were shocked at his death. Doug Keightley described him as a ‘very popular guy’.
Detective Chief Inspector Lee Watling said: ‘Our primary aim is to establish how Mr Dearlove came to receive the injuries which led to his death. We are appealing for anyone who was at Tranquil Vale who witnessed the incident, in particular a group of up to four white females who Mr Dearlove and his friends were speaking to around the time the offence occurred.’
‘He had so many plans’