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Grief of Tube man's brother
By Wayne Veysey and Graham Keeley, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 23.10.02
Thomas pictured with his brother Nicolas, who says they didn't stand a chance against their attackers
The brother of an antiques dealer beaten to death after he became lost on the Tube, today spoke of the "bunch of cowards" who murdered him.
Speaking for the first time Nicholas Scott said his half-brother Thomas was not given a chance as the two of them were set upon by a vicious gang outside Kentish Town Tube station on Saturday night.
Nicholas told the Evening Standard: "I'm absolutely devastated and numb. I'm still trying to take it all in.
"The attack was totally motiveless. I don't know why they attacked Tommy or how many of them there were. He just wasn't given a chance. They were a bunch of cowards."
Thomas Scott, 34, was beaten senseless and died from head wounds yesterday. Nicholas, 28, who suffered a broken nose in the attack, said they had been out for a few drinks that evening.
The pair were on their way home when they got on the wrong Tube train on their way to East Finchley. There were no more trains that night so they got out at Kentish Town and were trying to get a mini cab when they were set upon.
Nicholas said he remembered little of the attack. Speaking at his semi-detached house in Finchley Lane, Hendon, he added: "You don't expect this to happen to anyone, especially your own brother. Tommy wouldn't have picked a fight with anyone. He wasn't a natural victim. I can't put into words how I feel about the people who did this."
Nicholas said he "idolised" Tommy, saying: "He was my big brother. He was effervescent, independent and popular. Everyone liked him. He was really generous and a caring person."
Described by police as "totally innocent", Thomas had come to London from Newark, Nottinghamshire, to visit Nicholas. Following the attack, in the early hours of Sunday morning, Thomas was in intensive care for two days before doctors yesterday decided to switch off his life support machine.
Police are not sure how many men were involved in the attack, which took place in Kentish Town Road at the junction with Leverton Street at about 12.40am on Sunday. The gang fled on foot.
Nicholas, who said he had hardly slept since Saturday night, was being comforted at his north London home today by his girlfriend Rachel Webber, 28, after his family had returned to their home town to make arrangements for the funeral.
Last said his sister Maria Ryan, said the whole family had been left heartbroken. She had visited her brother in hospital with their mother and father.
Mrs Ryan said: "To think that there is someone who can do that is just breaking our hearts."
Thomas's murder is the third such fatal street attack in a small area of Kentish Town this year. In May, Frankie Kyriacou, 19, was stabbed to death by a gang. Two months later in July, Jahami Conquest, 17, was also stabbed in the street.
Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Green from the Metropolitan Police Serious Crimes Group is appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
Anyone with information should call the Serious Crime Group at Hendon on 0208 358 0300 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
