A woman has told how she heard her boyfriend had “irreversible brain damage” and later died after allegedly being punched on a night out as she prepared for her sister’s wedding.
Kaitlyn Booth, 22, was away getting ready for the wedding when she received the devastating call to say her boyfriend, Jack, was assaulted and on a ventilator in hospital.
The alleged attack happened on August 12 in Preston last year and legal assistant Jack Jermy-Doyle, 25, was rushed to hospital by ambulance but sadly died two days later.
Now Kaitlyn is raising awareness of the devastation that a punch up at the end of a night out can cause.
The dental nurse from Burnley, Lancashire said: “I woke up at about 5:30am on August 12th to start getting ready for my sister’s big day and I had lots of notifications saying something had happened to Jack.
“The signal was terrible but I finally managed to get a hold of his sister, Leanne, who told me that doctors were saying Jack had irreversible brain damage.
“My dad drove me over to Preston hospital and when we arrived, we had to sit in A+E and wait for a nurse to come and take me down. The nurse came over and explained the extent of the damage and told us that there was absolutely no way Jack would survive this and it would only be a matter of time before his heart stopped beating.
“I just remember breaking down but trying so hard not to because in my head there was still hope. I didn’t want to accept it.
“After visiting Jack, me and dad made our way back to the rest of the family to support my sister at her wedding. It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do, trying to smile through such horrific pain.”
Kaitlyn and Jack met on Tinder in August 2021 and moved into a flat together in Manchester that December.
Kaitlyn said: “It was amazing, but we shortly moved back home with our parents as we decided it was far too expensive and we wanted to save up for a mortgage which was impossible if we were to continue living in Manchester.
“We still spent every moment we could together. I loved being around Jack, he was funny, kind, ambitious, so very friendly and just loved life.
“He always showed me how much he loved me. If I’d had a hard day at work he would make sure I came home to a home cooked meal and a cocktail.
“On the night he was punched he was out with friends but he’d left me a voicemail because I didn’t have a very good signal where I was.
“It was him telling me how much he loved me and I remember listening to it thinking how sweet it was and I even thought I’m gonna keep that forever should anything ever happen.
“Little did I know I was going to walk up in the morning and he would be gone.”
Following the incident, two men – aged 21 and 28 from Preston – were arrested on suspicion of Section 18 wounding but were released on police bail while enquiries continued.
A spokesperson for Lancashire police said: “Two men – aged 21 and 28 from Preston – were arrested and have since been released on bail pending further enquiries.
“Anyone with information which could assist our enquiries should call 101 quoting log 0161 of August 12, 2022.”
Kaitlyn says the people who have been arrested are completely unknown to her and Jack and she believes it was a completely unprovoked attack.
As the investigation continues Kaitlyn says she is trying to keep busy. She said: “I never stop because as soon as I sit down or if it’s quiet it hits me all over again that I’m never going to see him again and I just can’t bear it. I’m still just devastated and in shock. I question ‘what if’ all the time and think of all these different scenarios.”
Jack was officially pronounced dead on the 14th August 2022 and went on to donate his organs that saved four people’s lives. His heart went to someone who was top of the donor list. My dad likes to remind me that Jack’s heart still beats for me, which is bittersweet.”
Jack’s funeral was held on 20th September 2022 and local scout groups gathered to form a guard of honour for Jack who had attended scouts since childhood.
Jack’s family and Kaitlyn chose to play ‘Before You Go’ by Lewis Capaldi for Jack. Kaitlyn said: “We’d seen Lewis Capaldi perform in June and it was the last song he played on the stage.
“It really started to sink in at Jack’s funeral that he was gone but I don’t really think I’ve managed my grief at all.
“I still sleepover at Jack’s mum’s house every week on a Thursday and I wear his clothes to bed.
“It hurts to know that I am never going to see him again. It’s difficult looking into the future because Jack should have been in my future. We were supposed to get married and have children and live a long and happy life together growing old with each other. But it was all taken with one punch.
“I hope that our story will make people think twice before throwing their fists around. It changes people’s lives forever and it’s us as a family that have to serve the life sentence.“What is devastating is that Jack had a twin. Harry, who died in 2019 by suicide. So his mum, Sue and sister, Leanne have lost both of them now.”
On the anniversary of Jack’s attack this year, on the 12th of August 2023, Kaitlyn is competing in a Tough Mudder race in memory of Jack.
She added: “This is something that we wanted to do together but sadly never can.
“My goal is to raise money for the charity One Punch UK but most importantly I want to raise awareness of the severity that one punch can do. So please, if you can’t donate, share and help raise awareness.