Man who killed golf greenkeeper with a horseshoe found guilty

A man who killed a golf greenkeeper by hitting him on the head with a horseshoe has been found guilty of murder.

Kirkpatrick Virgo struck Thomas Parker, 24, after the pair argued over loud music from a boombox speaker on a train.

The 42-year-old, from Slough, admitted manslaughter and carrying an offensive weapon, but denied murder.

An argument had broken out after Mr Parker’s brother Craig Parker, 27, told one of Virgo’s friends to turn the music down on a London to Reading Elizabeth Line train they were all travelling on at about 11pm last July.

The two groups shouted at each other before the argument was ended by off-duty police officers.

Virgo then followed the Parker brothers when the train arrived at Reading station.

During his evidence, Craig Parker told how he went to throw up behind a pillar as soon as the train arrived at Reading Station.

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He said he felt ill from a McDonald’s milkshake he had consumed on the train.

“Once I vomited I felt Tom looking over me, making sure I was all right,” he said.

“Then it happened, so quickly, Tom was on the floor in front of me.”

Virgo took out horseshoe from rucksack and followed group

The court heard that Virgo had followed the group, removing a heavy metallic horseshoe from his rucksack, which he then used to hit Thomas Parker in the head.

Craig Parker told the court that he chased Virgo through the station as he did not want to let him get away.

“I was in a bear hug, grappling, just holding (him), I did not want to let him go,” he said.

After Virgo was detained, Mr Parker heard someone tell him that he needed to go back to his brother.

“I heard someone say ‘you best come down now’,” he said.

Mr Parker found his brother surrounded by paramedics.

Despite the efforts of emergency services, Thomas Parker was pronounced dead at 12.40am.

The court was told that Mr Parker died as a result of a subarachnoid haemorrhage after he was hit, meaning fragile blood vessels near his brain had burst and he had gone into cardiac arrest.

Virgo will be sentenced on Friday.

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