Top Barclays exec murdered while helping homeless man

LONDON (AFP) - A top Barclays executive was beaten to death by a group of youths in Norwich as he tried to stop them attacking a homeless man, Norfolk police said on Tuesday.

Frank McGarahan, 45, was standing at a taxi rank in central Norwich in the early hours of Sunday morning when the incident occurred.

Detective superintendent Chris Hobley who is leading the murder inquiry, said McGarahan had seen a group of four youths assaulting a homeless Lithuanian man who was walking a dog with his girlfriend.

There was an "exchange of words" and moments later, the youths attacked McGarahan who was knocked unconscious, Hobley said.


His brother and a cousin, who were with him at the time, also got dragged into the brawl.

McGarahan was rushed to Norwich University Hospital with a head injury, then transferred to Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge, but he never regained consciousness and died later in the day.

The father-of-two who came from Much Hadham near Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire, had spent a "quiet night" enjoying a meal with his family, police said.

McGarahan's cousin was also injured in the brawl, and a bouncer from a local nightclub who came to their aid also suffered a fractured jaw. The homeless man also received medical attention but his injuries were not said to be serious.

Hobley said the family were "very distressed" at the brutal murder of McGarahan, who was chief operating officer at Barclays Wealth which employs 7,700 staff in 20 countries.

Speaking to reporters outside the family home in Much Hadham, Tony McGarahan, one of the banker's brothers, said it was a "mindless malicious murder" and that the family would "never truly recover" from their loss.

"This tragedy, a vicious wicked murder, ruins the life and lives of so many people who must eventually pick up the pieces and carry on. And we will try to do that but without Frank in our family and in our lives," he said.

"We will never understand how or why anyone could murder such a decent, caring and loving man," he said.

"Frank has paid the ultimate price of life for being a good citizen."