Teenager kills squash champ stepdad with one punch in row over pocket money
A MOTHER wept yesterday as she told a court how her teenage son killed his stepfather with a single punch in a row over pocket money.
Douglas Herridge, 18, lashed out during a Saturday morning confrontation at the family home.
His stepfather Colin Payne, a former English champion squash player, suffered a ‘catastrophic’ injury and died without even reaching hospital. The attack was the culmination of a series of arguments, as then 17-year-old Herridge’s behaviour spiralled out of control in the wake of his parents’ divorce in 2011, the court heard.
His mother Ina Herridge, 42, and her new partner were struggling to cope and had called police just days earlier after an ugly scuffle.
A jury heard the teenager had previously put his hand on his mother’s throat, as well as punching and kicking her.
Yesterday Mrs Herridge, an NHS risk manager and former nurse, wiped away tears as she gave evidence against her son. She said Mr Payne, 54, came into the study of their £300,000 home in Dartford, Kent, after hearing Herridge swearing when she refused to hand over his allowance.
She had told her son it was ‘not appropriate’ after his recent behaviour, and because he had spent cash for a haircut on other things. The court heard Mr Payne shouted at Herridge: ‘You cannot talk to your mum like that’, before the pair started grappling.
Mrs Herridge rushed into the hallway to ask a decorator at the house for help. She said: ‘When I came back ... Douglas said, “You are a p***y” and Colin said, “Come on then.” Then I saw the punch. Douglas punched Colin. I think it hit him on the side of the head.’ The jury heard Herridge – who
sobbed in the dock as his mother gave evidence – calmly left the house and was arrested three hours later in a nearby village. Mr Payne, who ran bathroom showrooms across Kent, never regained consciousness after the attack, having suffered a fatal bleed at the base of his brain.
The former squash player – who represented his country and was the national over-50s champion – moved in with Herridge, his mother and older brother William in 2015. Herridge became ‘upset, angry and agitated’, quitting a college business course and failing to keep jobs at a taxi firm and air conditioning company. Prosecutor ‘Victim’: Herridge’s stepfather Colin Payne with ex-wife Clare Richard Hearnden said he took his anger out on furniture, walls and kitchen appliances. He was also suspected of kicking a wing mirror off the family car, leading to his allowance being frozen.
Three days before his death on November 19 last year, 6ft 4in Mr Payne – who was divorced from ex-wife Clare and had two daughters – said he was ‘frightened’ of Herridge. Police had just been called to their home after a scuffle which left the businessman’s Tshirt ripped down the middle.
Mrs Herridge told officers her partner ‘would not harm a fly’ and he confessed he ‘could not fight his way out of a paper bag’.
The court heard Herridge – who denies murder – will claim he was acting in lawful self-defence after Mr Payne tried to ‘choke or strangle’ him. The case continues.
‘Would not harm a fly’