Man killed in homophobic attack

A man has died after being severely beaten in, what is believed to have been a homophobic attack, on Clapham Common.

Jody Dobrowski, a 24-year-old bar manager from southeast London, was found unconscious in Clapham Common in the early hours of Saturday morning and died later that day.

A post-mortem examination revealed that he died from severe head, neck and facial injuries.

Police described the attack as a “sustained and violent assault” and have warned that the attack may be linked to other assaults in the area. It is feared that the attackers may strike again.

Clapham Common is a known gay cruising spot. It is not known if Mr Dobrowski was gay, but police believe that his attackers assumed that he was.

Mr Dobrowski was attacked shortly after midnight and police said that witnesses heard shouts of homophobic insults.

It is believed that two men were involved in the attack and police have issued descriptions of the suspects. The first suspect is described as being around 6ft tall with short, shaved hair, while the second suspect is described as shorter and stockier than the first man. Both men are believed to be white and aged between 20 and 30.

Police are currently trying to trace Mr Dobrowski’s movements between 10:15pm on Saturday night, when he left a friend’s house and just after midnight, when he was found unconscious on the common.

They have appealed for witnesses to the attack to come forward. Police said that they believe up to 12 people in the area may have seen the attack.

There have been a number of other attacks on Clapham Common in recent weeks, police said. Last month, two men attempted to strangle a man on the Common after once of them pretended to be interested in having sex with him. However, the man, who had military training, was able to escape.

(KMcA/SP)