Man stabbed to death with machete in pub garden

"Terrifying": the New Inn pub in Sutton where the victim had been drinking when the attack occurred
12 April 2012

A man drinking with his girlfriend in a beer garden was hacked to death with machetes in front of horrified drinkers.

Witnesses said the victim, named locally as 28-year-old David Stevenson, a scaffolder and father of two, was at the New Inn in Sutton with a woman when two men started attacking him.

He was dragged into an alley next to the pub where he was slashed repeatedly and left in a pool of blood. Police and paramedics raced to the pub in Myrtle Road when several people dialled 999 at about 7.20 last night. They took the man to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery but died an hour later.

Three men were arrested by detectives from Scotland Yard's homicide squad. The first was a 24-year-old man. His father, 54, was also questioned after being arrested at an address in Sutton last night. A third man was arrested in Wimbledon.

One neighbour said: "It was a typical August Sunday evening and there were families out enjoying the sunshine. Suddenly, there was a big argument. I was out in my garden when I heard lots of shouting and dogs barking. They weren't police dogs. It was terrifying. We couldn't believe it when we saw the body of a young man slumped in a pool of blood. Then there were police everywhere." The victim's father, Roger John Stevenson, 54, a retired firefighter, described his son as a "loveable rogue". He said: "He was loved by lots of people. He was a very popular man, he was everybody's friend. He was always laughing."

His twin brother Ricky, 28, a carpenter, said: "Obviously I will miss him; he's a part of me. He's gone and he isn't going to come back. None of this seems real at the moment." Mr Stevenson's mother Lesley, who now lives in Canada, is flying home for her son's funeral.

Detectives are preparing to interview about 35 people who were in the pub. Sources say that many of those present witnessed the attack. Forensic officers today continued to examine the scene which was cordoned off.

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