‘A Sainsbury’s queue jumper killed my husband, his sentence is an absolute joke’
Andrew Clark, 43, was celebrating Newcastle’s Carabao Cup final victory when he challenged Demiesh Williams for jumping the queue at Sainsbury’s in Beckenham, south London
The widow of a football fan who died after confronting a queue jumper at Sainsbury’s following the Carabao Cup final has blasted the killer’s sentence as a “joke.” Andrew Clark, 43, lost his life after being assaulted outside the store by Demiesh Williams, 30, on March 16 this year.
Williams was jailed for five years and three months after pleading guilty to manslaughter. But Andrew’s wife Cairistine has voiced her outrage, saying she “cannot accept” the punishment.
Andrew, 43, had been marking his beloved Newcastle United’s cup final victory, describing it as “the best day of my life”, when he came across Demiesh Williams whilst shopping at Sainsbury’s in Beckenham, South London, alongside his wife
Williams, 30, had pushed ahead in the queue in front of Andrew, who subsequently confronted him for cutting in. Cairistine, Andrew’s partner of 23 years, told the Daily Mail that Williams responded furiously to being challenged.
Upon leaving the store, he reportedly threatened staff and shoppers that he would “get him outside”. Woolwich Crown Court was told that as the family departed the shop, Williams, from Fir Tree Gardens in Addington, Croydon, had confronted Andrew and struck him with an open palm.
Andrew then collapsed from the impact and banged his head, succumbing to his injuries in hospital three days later.
Cairistine said: “People keep talking about it being ‘only a slap’. But I’ve seen the scans. I’ve seen the damage. He killed him with his bare hands. I was only a few steps behind him. I saw everything. I heard everything. And then he was gone.”
As Andrew lay critically wounded, Williams bolted from the scene, speeding off with his young child still in the vehicle. The heartbroken mum revealed she cradled her husband, stating: “I’m sure he died in my arms”, whilst Williams “just ran”.
The case was due to proceed to trial, but Williams pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter. During the sentencing hearing, Cairistine explained that Williams’ failure to apologise had deepened their anguish.
To add to their pain, the bus driver could be released from prison in less than five years if he serves only two-thirds of his sentence.
After storming out of court before the judge had finished delivering the sentence on Thursday, Andrew’s relatives have condemned the punishment as “an absolute joke”.
Cairistine declared: “The court case was an utterly devastating day for our family,”.
“No justice has been served. There is no justice for a life taken. He won’t even serve three years in prison. It’s two Christmases and he’ll be out. He will be 32 when he gets out. And it’s an absolute joke.
“What kind of message does this sentence give to violent criminals? We will carry this loss for the rest of our lives. Yet he [Williams] will return to his. That is something I cannot understand, and I cannot accept. Sentences must reflect the severity of the crime. If this can happen to us, an ordinary family, then it can happen to you.”
She added: “We couldn’t sit there any longer. It was too humiliating. It was too painful.
“Sentences need to be stronger because people are just going to reoffend. If you know that you’re gonna kill somebody and you’re gonna get three and a half years, it’s not going to stop violent people. Now Rose is growing up without her dad. He was everything to her.”
She painted a picture of him as “selfless”, adding that “everybody knew him because he was so kind, so generous and he had time for everybody.”
Cairistine continued: “Andrew does not deserve this. But equally, other families don’t deserve this either, because we’re the innocent victims. His death has changed everything. Every moment of our life is changed by one callous act of violence. It’s incredibly unfair.”
In a heart-wrenching statement read out in court by her aunt, Andrew’s 14 year old daughter expressed: “My dad was not just my dad. He was my best friend. We did everything together.”
She added: “You did this to my dad. My dad was the most generous man I know.
“I don’t want to live my life without him. You got to keep your family, while you destroyed mine in the cruellest way.”
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Andrew Lees reflected: “Andrew Clark was 43 at the time of his death. He was a hard-working family man. I have heard heartfelt statements read to the court by Andrew’s wife and his sister. What the family said in court brings home the magnitude of what has happened and the devastating loss and consequences of your actions.
“The family are dealing with unimaginable grief from which recovery is unlikely to ever be complete. By all accounts Andrew Clark was much loved, much respected, and will be much missed, and it should never have happened.”
