Gay man murdered – police appeal to Soho bar customers for information

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A 28 year old man found dead in his flat in south east London may have been the victim of a homophobic attack.

Detectives are particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw David Cooper on Tuesday night through to the early hours of Wednesday morning.

They are keeping an open mind about the reasons for his death and said he could have been killed because he was gay.

Police were called on Wednesday afternoon after two of men reported that they had discovered a body at the address of a friend in Sir Martin Bowes House, Calderwood St, SE18.

The London Ambulance Service attended but Mr Cooper, who resided at the address, was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed.

A postmortem at Greenwich Mortuary gave the cause of death as head injuries.

An incident room has opened in Lewisham under Assistant Detective Chief Inspector Clive Heys of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command.

“David was viciously assaulted and has suffered serious head injuries,” said A/DCI Heys.

“At present were investigating the possibility that David has died as the result of a homophobic attack.

“But it should be stressed that we retain an open mind regarding its motive.

“Since the start of the investigation we have worked closely with representatives of the LGBT community informing them of developments and seeking their advice on a number of matters.

“We know he meet up with friends in the Old Compton Street area of Soho and we would like to speak with anyone who saw him that evening or the people he was with.

“He visited a number of venues including Compton’s, Village and G-A-Y bar from about 18.30 that evening.

“The last confirmed sighting we have of him is for around 23.00 when he left the Friendly Society.

“Also at present we do not know how he got home.

“Therefore we would also like people who were out that evening, but not in that area to think back to see whether they saw David on public transport, or if you were the taxi driver who gave him a lift home.”

Anyone with information that could assist should call the incident room on 020 8721; if you wish to remain anonymous please call the Galop Shoutline on 020 7704 2040 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

You can also call the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender officer for Greenwich on 020 8284 9864.

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