Nurse’s agony over husband killed in one-punch attack
A NURSE yesterday spoke of how her family life has been destroyed after her husband was killed by a thug’s single punch.
Clare Lovatt, 52, said her future and that of their two sons had been ‘stolen’ when Adam Lovatt was knocked to the pavement, suffering two skull fractures and a fatal bleed on the brain.
Retail manager and businessman Mr Lovatt had been out celebrating his 45th birthday at a pub on the night that he was attacked by Samuel Thorpe.
Thorpe, 26, followed Mr Lovatt outside after a minor row, hitting him in the face before fleeing – leaving him for dead.
Yesterday, after Thorpe’s conviction for manslaughter last week, Mrs Lovatt said: ‘As a nurse I have only ever wanted to help people, as a mother I only ever wanted a good life for our boys and for them to grow up in a nurturing, respectful environment.
‘Adam’s love and support gave us all of this. Having Adam literally ripped out of our lives and my future stolen is too much for anyone to bear. I am no longer the person I was whilst he was alive.’
On the night of his birthday in May 2018, the couple were celebrating at a pub in the village of Audlem, Cheshire, where they lived and also owned a delicatessen, Liverpool Crown Court was told. Mrs Lovatt went home but Mr Lovatt headed to another pub, where he ran into Thorpe and another man, Nicolas Hill, 37, in the early hours.
A row occurred and Mr Lovatt left but the two men followed him. After Thorpe’s fatal blow, they fled. A passing motorist called emergency services but Mr Lovatt never regained consciousness and died in hospital later that day.
Thorpe, of Wybunbury, Cheshire, tried to evade police by getting rid of his mobile and travelling to North Wales.
But he was arrested and convicted of manslaughter following a ten-day trial. Hill, of Audlem, was found not guilty of manslaughter but
‘Ripped out of our lives’
admitted assisting an offender. Both men will be sentenced next month.
Paying tribute, Mrs Lovatt said her husband ‘did lovely things for me like running a hot bath, putting out candles and having a meal cooked for me when I got in late from a nursing shift’. Mr Lovatt’s mother, Maria, described her youngest son as ‘funny, loving and hard-working’.
Detective Inspector Adam Waller said Mr Lovatt’s death was a ‘stark reminder’ that lashing out can change lives in an instant.