MMA fighter killed father in front of two children on Halloween

2022-07-21

Pro MMA fighter killed father in front of his fiancée and two children while they were out trick-or-treating: Violent thug, 31, is jailed for eight years after hitting 43-year-old parent with ‘two full force punches’ in row outside pub

Pro MMA fighter has been jailed for killing a father with two punches to the head
Violent thug Daniel Ballard attached Philip Mersh on Halloween last year
Mr Mersh had been out trick or treating with his fiancée and two children

A professional mixed martial arts fighter who lashed out at a father while he was out trick or treating with his family on Halloween and killed him with two ‘full force punches’ has been jailed for eight years.

Violent thug Daniel Ballard attacked Philip Mersh in front of his fiancée and two children outside a pub in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

A court heard that Ballard, 31, punched the father in the head after ‘taking offence’ when Mr Mersh, 43, made either a remark or gesture towards the fighter’s girlfriend at around 6pm on October 31 last year.

Mr Mersh suffered serious injuries and was rushed to hospital, where he was tragically pronounced brain dead days later. A post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Swift stated that his cause of death as a result of complications of head injuries following physical altercations.

Ballard, of Southend, admitted manslaughter at Basildon Crown Court in May and has now been jailed for eight years.

Video shown to court showed Ballard punching Mr Mersh’s fiancée then hitting the father twice in the face. Upon the second blow, the Essex father stumbled backwards then fell to the ground.

Prosecutors said the punches were ‘disproportionate, offensive and unlawful’. They told the court that Ballards’s punches were ‘full force’ and that the fight between the MME fighter and the father was ‘mismatched’.

Violent thug Daniel Ballard (left) has been jailed for killing father of two Philip Mersh (right)

Ballard pictured fighting MMA rival Brent Rose in October 2019

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Philip’s partner Sarah Wilson said: ‘Nothing is the same in our lives anymore.

‘I no longer have my fiancée who I spent 20 years with and my children don’t have their dad.

‘He was everything. We had an extremely tight bond. There is a void that can not be filled without Phil. Both boys have lost their confidence whenever we socialise with friends its clear to me they do not want to go home without their daddy.

‘Phil and I were together for 20 years he was my best friend, my soul mate, my everything.

‘I feel utterly empty that he is no longer here. One of the worst things that affected me is that we were so close to home. There is not a day where I don’t leave the house and am reminded of what happened.

‘Not only did I witness the incident that lead to my fiancée’s death, but so did our two sons and their best friend.

‘I’m now a single mum to our boys and the very thought of getting out of the door is a lot to handle.

‘When I think of the man that killed Phil, I can see the vision of the incident in my head.

‘He was so aggressive that night that nothing any of us could do would stop him from doing what he did.

‘I have such hatred for him for taking Phil away from us. Thinking about him makes me angry he’s taken any future away from Phil and he’s taken the boy’s dad away from them.

Police at the scene in Leigh-on-Sea on October 21 last year

‘He’s taken everything away from us and it will never be the same. We will never be able to make any more memories together. The way Phil died was the worst way anyone can die, he was taken from us, we couldn’t prepare for it and we couldn’t say goodbye.

‘The boys were in disbelief and hysterical when I told them their daddy had died. This void will never be filled and we are so incredibly empty.’

The court heard Ballard had 12 previous convictions for 27 offences involving violence from 2009 to last year.

Nine months before the punch-up, Ballard attacked his partner and threatened to strangle her, ‘break her jaw’ and ‘punch her in the face’. He also dragged her around her flat by her hair, headbutted her, and kicked her car, causing dents. He avoided jail.

In 2014, Ballard attacked a female motorist and her male passenger with a metal pole at traffic lights.

Sentencing for the killing of Mr Mersh, Judge Graham said to Ballard: ‘You took another man’s life on Halloween of last year there were significant aggravating features to your case but I can give you credit for your guilty plea and evidence of remorse. This all happened tragically so close to Mr Mersh’s home.’

In a second victim impact statement, Mr Mersh’s mother said: ‘Phil was the light of our life that will never be extinguished.

‘Both my husband and I are overwhelmed by grief and trying to think of family events is so hard.

‘The thought of the twins having to navigate the world is distressing we have been robbed beyond words of his strength, words and loyalty. It will never be the same.’

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