A thug who punched a stranger to death with a horseshoe, after an argument over loud music on a train, has been jailed for over 21 years.
Kirkpatrick Virgo, 42, was jailed at Reading Crown Court today for murdering Thomas Parker, 24.
He killed him with a horseshoe after the pair got into a fierce row over loud music from a speaker on a train and Parker was said to have called him a "black c***".
Virgo claimed the murder weapon was decorative and had been bought to "hang on the front door as a lucky charm" and was arrested by British Transport Police after he was said to have asked Mr Parker "do you want to die?"
The shocking incident took place on July 30, around 11pm, last year, when CCTV showed Virgo board the same train as the Parker brothers, with two friends at Slough carrying a boombox, with witnesses who were on board saying they were playing loud music.
Mr Parker's brother, Craig, told one of Virgo's friends to turn the music down on an Elizabeth Line service to Reading.
The two groups began shouting at one another before off-duty police officers ended the altercation.
But after the argument, Virgo removed the metal horseshoe from his bag and held it, claiming he thought he was about to be attacked.
After arriving at Reading station, he followed the Parker brothers before striking Thomas on the back of the head, the prosecution told the court.
He was then chased by Craig Parker who tackled his brother’s killer, and the pair were separated by security.
Despite the efforts of emergency services, Thomas Parker was pronounced dead at 12.40am.
Virgo claimed that he had been trying to avoid the siblings but Thomas had begun racially abusing him, but prosecutor Tahir Khan said: "You went after them".
Virgo said: "No. I did not follow them. It happened so quickly. He spat at me and called me a black c*** and then I hit him.”
"It happened so quickly that I did not realise that he had turned his head.
"My intention was not to kill Thomas Parker. I am sorry to the Parker family. No mother should ever have to bury her son and for that I am sorry. I regret it every day of my life.”
The victim’s father Steven Parker described how "everything went black" as he saw his son lying on the platform at Reading station.
He said: "Tom had a lovely personality and always had a smile on his face.
"He was very clever and had lots of friends, Tom did not have a bad bone in his body. I would describe him as a lover not a fighter.
"I received a phone call from our son Craig. Every parent’s worst nightmare was about to unfold in front of us. Craig told us, 'You need to get to Reading station, Tom has been attacked'."
Mr Parker said he was unable to comfort his son or hug him because of the crime scene unveiling in front of him when he arrived at the station.
He said: "We approached in fear, hoping in our hearts we would be able to take Tom home with us, or at least take him to hospital where he could receive medical treatment. We could not be more wrong.
"We wanted to hug Tom, to take him home, to gently shake him and tell him to wake up. To tell him everything will be OK."
He described his son as being like a brother, and added that Craig had "not only lost his brother but also his closest friend".
The court heard that Virgo was a father of four and had five previous convictions for crimes such as drink-driving, and on another occasion he was found with crack cocaine and heroin.
He was found guilty by jurors after three hours and 49 minutes of deliberation on Wednesday and jailed for 21 years and 123 days.
