A BRITISH pensioner has passed away three months after he suffered a horrific assault while holidaying in Spain.
Retired carpenter Marshall Latham, 68, was ‘just a chap on holiday’ with his partner Lynn in Caleta, Fuerteventura, when tragedy struck on December 10.
The retiree, from Nantwich, Cheshire, was walking back to his apartment after drinks with some friends, when he was punched ‘out of the blue’ by a random thug.
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According to his brother-in-law Jim Casey, Marshall was punched so hard that he fell and hit his head hard on the concrete floor.
He was knocked unconscious and taken to a hospital in Puerto del Rosario.
The Brit had to be transferred via air ambulance to the Insular Hospital in Gran Canaria, as Fuerteventura’s facilities weren’t adequately equipped for the brain trauma he had suffered.
Once transferred, he underwent surgery to remove 14cm of his skull, before having a tracheotomy.
He then caught pneumonia twice and battled through meningitis.
Marsh – as he was known to friends – was transferred to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool on March 1.
The news has only just been released that he tragically died there on March 16 after being left in a coma.
A 32-year-old British man was reportedly arrested after trying to board a flight to Glasgow after the attack.
The suspect was identified via CCTV and appeared in court on suspicion of wounding, but was released on bail in February.
Last Wednesday, a coroner officer opened an inquest into Marshall’s death at Warrington Coroner’s Court, due to the ‘unnatural’ cause of death.
However, the inquest has now been suspended until August as Spanish police consider any criminal charges.
According to Casey, who spoke to The Nantwich News, the alleged perpetrator was ‘thrown out of a bar on the same night before the attack’.
Witness reports state that the assault was unprovoked, and Marshall’s loved ones have emphasised his pacific and lovable character.
“Marsh has never been in any trouble or even had a parking ticket,” said Casey.
According to local councillor Allen Gage, Marshall was crossing the road to help someone out when he was knocked down.
In a social media post shared a few months ago, Gage said: “We need justice.”
This ‘justice’ has been created in the form of a GoFundMe appeal, called ‘Help Us Get Justice For Marsh’.
Currently, just over £17,000 has been raised from 333 donations.
Neil Cooper, a friend of Marshall and in charge of the GoFundMe, set an initial target of £15,000.
“This will allow us to hire a solicitor on retainer and enable them to start reviewing the case,” he wrote.
However, the legal fees for Marshall’s case are estimated ‘to be around £30,000’.
The GoFundMe page now has this sum as its target, in the hope that friends and family can bring the attacker to justice.
Cooper previously wrote on the page: “We want to bring Marsh’s attacker to justice… it will allow his friends and family to know that the person who did this has to face the consequences of their actions. Marsh didn’t ask for this, he certainly didn’t deserve this and it was just a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time…”
Cooper updated the page after his friend’s death, adding that ‘it’s more important now than ever that we seek justice for Marsh’.
“We have been back and forth with the solicitors this week understanding how his death changes the case,” he explains.
Cooper offers his thanks to everyone ‘for all the kind words and messages’ and notes that ‘Marsh was loved by so many people.’
“We know this is going to be a long and challenging process and we really couldn’t have got to this point without your help,” he concludes.
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