A young father-of-four died from a knife wound to the heart after a fight broke out at a Lower Clapton pub where travellers were celebrating a wedding.
Tommy Lawrence collapsed in the street outside the Glyn Arms pub in Mandeville Street shortly before 11.50pm on Thursday.
He was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel but he was later pronounced dead.
The 26-year-old, who is understood to have lived with his wife and four children in Homerton, had family on the gated travellers’ site in Homerton Road.
Mourners laid flowers in memory Mr Lawrence – who is believed to have sold carpets for a living – at the spot where he fell.
Members of Hackney’s travelling community, who said they knew the dead man’s family, said he was the bride’s brother.
The wedding took place at St Scholastica’s Catholic Church in Kenninghall Road, before more than a hundred party-goers gathered at the pub.
“He was a very quiet, a lovely boy who never bothered anybody,” said one man as he laid flowers at the scene.
“He was well respected in the travelling community.”
Detectives from the Met’s Homicide Serious Crime Command are investigating an alleged argument involving Mr Lawrence in the Glyn Arms shortly before he was found in the street.
The venue’s owners have closed the premises on the request of police and town hall chiefs are reviewing its licence.
A post-mortem examination on Friday at Poplar Mortuary gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the heart.
Martin Terrance Ward, 23, of Abersham Road, Dalston, appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday charged with murder. The accused is a fellow traveller. He was remanded in custody to return for a plea and case management hearing on January 6.
Three other men arrested in connection with the killing have been released with no further action.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here