Mother’s plea to find justice for son who died after Wakefield attack 12 years ago

Sean Edley was punched to the floor on Westgate on January 28, 2007 leaving him with a fractured skull and a bleed to the brain, but nobody was ever charged for the attack.

The resulting head injuries changed his life, resulting in him being diagnosed with epilepsy.

Sean was forced to give up work due to the frequent seizures he endured.

He collapsed and suffered a fit on a Horbury street in November 2010 which caused his death, aged just 41.

An inquest into his death found the injuries he sustained had led to his death.

On the 12 anniversary of his assault, his mother Win Edley, now 74, says she continues to search for answers.

She said: “The police only really started looking after he died, by which time it was too late, it was three years after the attack.

“To me, it seems like it was yesterday, it’s been with me since that day and I’ll never get over it.

“My heart will always be broken. Someone must know who did this.

“We have no idea who did it or why. Sean was very outgoing and never any bother.”

Sean, who was living in Lupset, had been out on a friend’s stag party in Wakefield on the night of Saturday, January 27, 2007.

He was walking along Westgate at around 2.15am the following morning when a silver car, possibly a Ford Focus, stopped near to the railway bridge.

A man got out of the vehicle, punched Sean, then got back into the car and drove away.

Mrs Edley, who lives in Dewsbury, says there were still people hanging around the Westgate area of the city at that time, and somebody must have witnessed the attack.

Due to the nature, of the attack, it was first regarded as an assault by police, but following Sean’s death the case was taken on by murder detectives at West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET).

The Express contacted West Yorkshire Police this week about he case but they were unable to provide a comment before going to print.