A 102-year-old great-grandfather, Phillip Ormerod, from Cwmbran, Torfaen, who has dementia, has died, days after allegedly being pushed off the stage on August 1 at the Crow’s Nest pub in South Wales.
Emergency services later arrived at the beer parlour in Cwmbran, at about 10.25 p.m., and took him to the hospital for medical attention, but he later succumbed to his injuries.
The Gwent Police arrested a 56-year-old man from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, on suspicion of section 20 assault, for allegedly inflicting grievous bodily harm on the elderly man, but later released him.
The deceased’s son, Robert Ormerod, told journalists on Thursday that his father “just asked them to turn the music down”, but as he turned around to come back down from the stage, he was pushed, which resulted in a broken hip.
The son, who is a civil engineer, said, “That’s the most upsetting part. He wasn’t going to live forever, but it’s not a nice way, obviously in pain. We want justice, of course.
“They must have known he was an old man. It makes you wonder what the world is coming to. He was in hospital, suffering, for a week-and-a-half. It’s not nice.
“I feel sad, even though he could be difficult because of his age and dementia. Still, you get used to him being around. Even though I suppose he wouldn’t go on forever, he would’ve carried on, I think, for a bit.”
His father, who lived alone in the Llanyrafon neighbourhood where he raised his family, was a “well-known character” at the pub and young people often bought him beer when he visited.
He worked as a design draughtsman before he retired. He continued to live in Llanyrafon after his wife’s death 40 years ago and was often visited by his two sons.
A senior investigating officer for Gwent Police, Shelley Comley, said, “We understand the public interest in this incident but want to remind people that not only is this an active criminal investigation but there is a family at the heart of it processing the loss of a loved one.
“Please consider the impact that inaccurate or speculative comments, particularly online commentary, could have on them and the ongoing investigation as a whole.”