Specials singer’s heartache over stab death of grandson
“We want to thank the hospital staff and surgeons at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, who battled all day to try and save him. My beautiful daughter Melanie and wife Christine Sugary, all the family and myself, are still shocked by this tragedy, but would like to thank you all for the kindness and messages we have received.”
Another man, 23, was found nearby with stab injuries and is in hospital. It is not yet certain if the two incidents are linked.
Mr Staple was in The Specials, whose hits in the 1970s included Gangster and A Message To You, Rudy. He later formed the Neville Staple Band. He said he would dedicate the band’s show last night at the Godiva Festival in Coventry to his grandson. He wrote on Facebook: “Let’s show the young people that this knife trend has to stop. It has to STOP.” His wife Christine added: “Our daughter said she wants us to still do it.
“Neville wants to dedicate the performance to Fidel. Fidel was just so handsome, so sweet, such a charmer, anyone who knew him would always say ‘he’s just so wonderful, what a lovely boy’. I just can’t believe he is gone. I think we are all still in shock, we’re still quite numb. We did a lot of crying yesterday and a lot of stressing.”
Cities across the country have been plagued by rising levels of violent crime in recent months, many involving knives, guns or acid.
West Midlands Police deal with an average of seven knife crimes a day, official figures for the year to March showed.
Detective Inspector Harry Harrison, from the homicide unit, said: “Sadly another young man has lost his life in a knife attack. Our thoughts are with his family at this dreadful time.”