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ROYAL BANKER DEATH CHARGE

Police charge man, 31, with the murder of former Coutts banker who was ‘felled by one punch’

Tragic Oliver Dearlove died as he and his girlfriend were thinking of starting a family

DETECTIVES investigating the murder of the ex-Queen's banker who was killed by a single punch have charged a man with murder and common assault.

Oliver Dearlove, 30, a former employee of Royal bank Coutts, collapsed in the street in Blackheath in the early hours of Sunday morning after he was attacked following a night out with friends.

 Oliver, pictured here with girlfriend Claire Wheatley, was killed while out with friends
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Oliver, pictured here with girlfriend Claire Wheatley, was killed while out with friendsCredit: PA:Press Association

Mr Dearlove, a relationship manager at private bank Duncan Lawrie in Belgravia, had been out with university friends when he was attacked.

A postmortem held at Greenwich mortuary on Monday gave the provisional cause of death as bleeding on the brain.

Trevor Timon, 31,  of Heavitree Road, south west London was charged this morning after he attended a south London police station by appointment yesterday, Scotland Yard said.

He will appear at Bromley Magistrates' Court later today.

Dearlove, who lived with his girlfriend Claire in Eltham, was a keen football fan and played as a forward for his local team Lord Hood FC.

He was set to go on holiday with friends to Las Vegas for a collective 30th birthday celebration.

His mother, Joy Wright, from Chislehurst, south-east London, said after his death: “He was very easygoing, lots and lots of friends, played lots of football.

“He studied hard at school. He worked for a private bank in Belgravia. He had been travelling for a year. He did what most nice people do.”

 The quiet street in Blackheath where the attack happened
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The quiet street in Blackheath where the attack happenedCredit: Array

Claire Wheatley,  his girlfriend of nearly four years, said they had recently discussed having a baby together.

“We were trying to get some money together so we could buy a house together,” she said.

“We had big plans. We were planning on having a baby as well. He was the kindest person.

"He was the most amazing person I’ve ever met and ever known. I’m so lucky to have known him.”

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