Murder arrest over death of man seen injured in New Milton

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a man who had suffered facial injuries.

Christopher Homer, 43, died in hospital on 3 September, a week after he was captured on CCTV in New Milton, Hampshire, with injuries to his face.

Hampshire Constabulary is trying to find out how he was injured and if it contributed to his death.

It said a 45-year-old man from Bournemouth had been held on suspicion of murder.

A 46-year-old woman from New Milton was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. Both have been released pending further inquiries.

Before Mr Homer's death, a 54-year-old man from New Milton was arrested on suspicion of wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and released on bail.

Police said Mr Homer was seen at 14:00 BST on Thursday 26 August in the Premier Store in Station Road in New Milton with no injuries.

The next day at 10:30, he was seen at Santander bank in Station Road, New Milton, and later the same day again at the Premier Store at 14:00 with a number of facial injuries.

Det Insp Toby Elcock said the force was keen to speak to anyone who saw Mr Homer in that 24-hour period or who has CCTV or dashcam footage that could help establish his movements.

He said: "It doesn't matter how small or insignificant you believe the information you might have, it could prove invaluable in establishing exactly what happened to Christopher in the lead up to his death."

In a statement released through police, Mr Homer's family described him as a "loving son, brother, uncle, dad and grandad".

It said: "The awful loss of our Christopher has left a cold agony in our lives that we may never recover from. Each day is challenging without you and your infectious laugh. We will miss you always."

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