A previous story of the circumstances.
Nottingham Evening Post
November 5, 2007 Monday
'Words cannot describe the pain'
Thomas Blackwell nipped out to buy a newspaper just before 11.45am on Friday. He never returned.
After leaving Deepak Foodstore in Barn Croft, Chilwell, Mr Blackwell was confronted by up to nine people who had got out of a white stretch limousine.
Seconds later, the limousine sped off, and the 42-year-old was left lying on the pavement.
"I was in bed when a neighbour came rushing round to tell me Thomas had been hurt," said his wife, Amanda.
"I got up and ran down the road to him. I tried talking to him but he was rolling around not making any sense.
"The ambulance arrived and I got in with Thomas. His heart stopped briefly in the ambulance and again at hospital. He was being kept going on a ventilator.
"Then the doctors told me they had done a CT scan and said they found bleeding in his brain. They said it was too big to save him.
"We lost our daughter Gemma to illness two years ago, when she was just 16. Now Thomas has been taken away."
Mrs Blackwell, who works as a care assistant in Beeston, moved to Great Hoggett Drive in Chilwell with her husband and their two daughters. Elizabeth, 18, and Zoe, 16, three months ago after living in Radford for years.
It was supposed to have been a happy return to the area where they had lived when their children were younger.
Mrs Blackwell said: "I've been told that up to nine people attacked Thomas.
"He was a lovely man. He was nice to everyone. Why would anyone want to hurt him? Words cannot described the pain our family is feeling."
She added: "The people who attacked Thomas need to be caught before they attack someone else.
"If you know who they are, you must phone the police."
A Notts police spokeswoman today said: "Mr Blackwell possibly knew his attackers. Officers have tracked down the limousine company and are speaking to staff.
"It appears Mr Blackwell was attacked by one or possibly two individuals."
Mrs Blackwell said her husband was a devoted family man, and was overjoyed nine months ago when he became a grandfather.
"He couldn't do enough for our granddaughter Paisley. He lived for her and his children.
"We spent a lot of time as a family walking our dog Zed, and Thomas loved to go fishing with friends. His favourite spot was in Stanton-on-the-Wolds."
One of Mr Blackwell's closest friends, Peter Westmoreland, 26, was comforting the family over the weekend.
He said: "I'd known Thomas for 12 years. When we met, we clicked. We used to go fishing together and watch DVDs. He was sound.
"He never said he had any problems or was involved in anything bad."
The area outside Deepak Foodstore was cordoned off over the weekend as scenes of crime officers took pictures and scoured for forensic evidence.
Plain-clothes officers carried out door-to-door inquiries as uniformed officers in two marked police cars guarded the scene.
Deepak Lachhar, 27, was working in shop at the time of the attack.
He said: "A man came in and bought newspapers and other bits and started talking to two lads who had just entered the shop.
"I could see a white stretch limousine outside and a group were standing next to it. The man left the shop and started arguing with the group. Then one of the two lads in the shop went out to join in the argument. They all seemed to know each other.
"I looked away to serve a customer and when I looked back a woman came running in to say a man was hurt outside and told me to dial 999.
"I saw the man outside but the limousine and the people he was arguing with had gone. His mouth seemed to be bleeding.
"I phoned for an ambulance and the man was taken away."
Mr Blackwell was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre. Police said a post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death to be a head injury.
Investigating officers are keen to speak to any witnesses.
Flowers and gifts now mark the spot where Mr Blackwell was attacked.
One card carried the message: "You will be sorely missed. It was nice having you as a neighbour."
A large Winnie the Pooh toy sat alongside flowers next to the wall.
One set of flowers had a card which read: "Always in our thoughts. Rest in peace."
The busy store welcomed regular customers yesterday, and many paused to look at the tributes and expressed their shock about the murder.
Mother Victoria Furlong, 24, said: "I have lived around here all my life and we have never had anything like this.
"Lots of children play around the shop. It really hits home when something like this happens on your doorstep. It is terrible.
"Maybe it is just the way of the world today."
Window cleaner Nigel Andrew, 40, said he was "gobsmacked".
"Everyone knows everyone around here. All our thoughts are with the family and I am sure everyone will rally round," he said.
Julie Finneron, who has lived in a neighbouring street for 19 years, saw the ambulance and the police car at the scene.
"I have a son called Tom and when they said his name my heart stopped," she said.
"I had assumed he had been knocked down by a car, but when I heard he had been attacked I was really shocked."
Superintendent Mike Manley, of Notts Police, said: "Incidents like this are thankfully very rare in Chilwell and it's shocked the local community.
"We are determined to catch the people responsible and urge anyone with information to contact us."
Call the incident room on 0115 844 6935 or Crimestoppers anonymously 0800 555 111.
guy.woodford@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk
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