‘How could anyone do this?’ say siblings of man who died after attack on the Southampton Common

It is the painful question being asked by the family of murder victim Nigel Price following his death four months after a vicious attack.

The 58-year-old’s brothers and sisters were told the devastating news shortly after Mr Price passed away on Tuesday night.

He had been in a coma-like state following the attack on Southampton Common in November last year and had never been able to communicate with doctors caring for him.

Yesterday it was revealed that a post-mortem examination had determined Mr Price died following a delayed reaction to his head injuries.

Police are not ruling out he may have been the victim of a homophobic attack.

Now Mr Price’s family are calling on anyone with information about who killed their brother to speak to police.

In a statement, Mr Price’s sisters Val and Heather and his brothers Clifford and Tony said: “It is with great sadness we write this, on the death of our brother Nigel.

“He died from the most dreadful injuries, which you can imagine has been a shock to us all.

“It has been made all the worse by the fact we don’t know who carried out this awful crime or why.”

The statement added: “Nigel wasn't a young man but then again he still had many years to live. How anyone can do this to a fellow human being we do not know.

“We as a family would like to ask anyone out there who knows anything about what happened to him, no matter how small, to please, please come forward and talk to the police. Dont let someone else suffer as we are.

“We appreciate some people may find it difficult to speak straight to the police but we would ask them to still please make sure they pass on anything they know.”

|A team of detectives from the |major crime department are working on the murder inquiry known as Operation Levy.

Anyone with information about the attack or who was on the Common and saw suspicious behaviour or heard an argument on the evening of November 13 last year is asked to contact officers in Hulse Road on 101 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.