Half-brother of Tottenham star Jermain Defoe 'killed by a single punch'

The half-brother of England footballer Jermain Defoe was killed by a single punch to the face in a street argument, the Old Bailey heard today.

Jade Defoe, 26, known as Gavin, fell to the ground and struck his head on the road, the jury was told.

The father of three fractured his skull and died four days later of severe brain injuries. Mr Defoe, a "popular and talented" MC on East London's urban music scene, was four months older than his footballer brother, a striker with Spurs.

Last April a row broke out in Newham between the victim and Christopher Farley, said Brian Altman QC, prosecuting. "Farley punched Gavin once hard to the left side of the face with a clenched fist. It felled him."

The court heard Farley's lawyers will argue Mr Defoe died because of negligent treatment at hospital, particularly Whipps Cross. Mr Defoe knew the defendant.

The victim's mother, Judy Cobham, held her hands to her face as evidence was read out about her son's condition after he was punched.

One witness said he was "wailing in pain" and that she later saw the "muscular" defendant on the pavement where he was "pacing up and down, really agitated".

Another woman, who said she had been friends with Mr Defoe for 17 years, told the court she held his head in her lap as he made jerking movements. "I was talking to him, trying to calm him down," she said.

Farley, 33, of Leytonstone, denies manslaughter. The case continues.