Stabbed architect dies

The architect stabbed in a street mugging has died.

Bernard Hegarty, 29, who was knifed through the heart while shopping during his lunch break, died last night, nearly a week after the attack.

Now police hope a DNA clue could provide a crucial breakthrough in the hunt for the killer.

Mr Hegarty had been in a critical condition at the Royal London Hospital since the assault in Bethnal Green, near the office of his firm Davy Smith.

His family and closest friends had maintained a vigil at his bedside and last night his parents were too upset to speak after returning to the family home in Tottenham.

Mr Hegarty was shopping for goods to furnish his new flat when he was attacked by a mugger in Mansford Street last Wednesday.

There was a row and a struggle when the architect refused to hand over his wallet. The mugger stabbed him several times in the stomach and chest and then rifled through his wallet before running off.

Two passers-by found Mr Hegarty slumped in a pool of blood but he was able to tell them: "That man stole my money."

He then lost consciousness and was airlifted to hospital.

Wahid Ferdons, 24, who saw the victim outside his flat, said: "His shirt was soaked in blood and he was bleeding very badly."

Police believe the knifeman was himself injured in the struggle as Mr Hegarty fought back. The attacker left a trail of blood as he ran off.

Detectives are now planning DNA tests on suspects.

Officers are looking for a dark skinned man, who could be Bangladeshi, seen running away shortly after the attack.

Witnesses believe he had long curly hair swept back from his face, possibly with a hair band.

He also had distinctive shave marks on the side of his head. Detective Superintendent Caroline Bates of Bethnal Green CID said police were still appealing for witnesses to the assault.

She said: "It was about two in the afternoon and there were a lot of people about and a lot of houses overlook the scene.

"It is hard to imagine that someone did not see something. We believe that this was a total stranger attack, involving a robbery that has gone wrong." The number of muggings in London has fallen by 10 per cent in the first four months of this financial year but violent crime is rising by 6.6 per cent.

In June, 15-year-old Kieran Rodney-Davies was killed for his £79 mobile phone as he went out on an errand for his mother near his Fulham home.

The Specialist Crime Directorate East will now take over the investigation and an incident room has opened at Barking under Detective Chief Inspector Jim Condron.

Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 020 8345 3775 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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