I once assumed that the more gruesome the crime, the quicker the culprit would be caught. The conviction of Daniel Watkis for the murder of Junior Coleman rather punctures that illusion.
On 10 July 2026 Watkis was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of killing the 43-year-old father. Coleman was beaten to death on the evening of 9 July 2025 inside the former Brockley Social Club on Brockley Road in Lewisham. His body was concealed under a tarpaulin and other items in the rear bar area of the derelict building. He was reported missing on 20 August 2025; police found him on 19 September.
The post-mortem examination concluded that Coleman died from blunt force trauma to the head and face caused by repeated heavy blows with a blunt object. Officers recovered his bank card, Freedom Pass, provisional driving licence and a water bottle linked to Watkis close to the body. That physical proximity mattered.
A painstaking investigation
Detective Chief Inspector Suzanne Soren led the Metropolitan Police inquiry. The evidence against Watkis included CCTV footage, witness accounts, forensic links, digital records and telecommunications data. He had returned to the building shortly before 23:00 on the night of the attack, left around 23:40 while glancing back, stopped using his usual mobile phone number in the early hours, reported his bank card as stolen and tried to discourage others from reporting Coleman missing.
Watkis, then aged 39 and of Glenarm Road in Hackney, was arrested on 24 September 2025 and charged with murder two days later. Sentencing is scheduled for 9 October 2026.
Junior Coleman was a much-loved son, brother, father and friend whose life mattered deeply to those who knew him. Today my thoughts are firmly with everyone who knew and loved him. Throughout this investigation, Mr Coleman’s family have shown remarkable dignity, patience and strength. Nothing can undo their loss, but I hope today’s verdict provides them with some measure of justice as they continue to grieve. This was a complex investigation that relied on the determination and professionalism of detectives and forensic specialists who painstakingly pieced together hundreds of individual lines of enquiry over many months. They reviewed extensive CCTV, analysed digital and telecommunications evidence, traced Watkis’ movements, secured crucial forensic opportunities - building a case that ensured Mr Coleman’s family finally received the answers they deserved. Today’s verdict means Daniel Watkis has been held accountable for taking Mr Coleman’s life. It also sends a clear message that those responsible for the most serious crimes cannot rely on time, concealment or deception to escape justice. No matter how complex an investigation may be, we will continue to pursue every available line of enquiry to ensure those responsible are brought before the courts.
Soren’s words capture the human cost better than any headline. A father, son and friend erased in a squalid corner of a boarded-up club. His family waited more than a year for this verdict. Their patience, as she noted, was remarkable.
