A coroner has paid tribute to the family of a man who died after being attacked outside a Brighton night club 11 years ago.
Veronica Hamilton-Deeley, the Brighton and Hove coroner, praised the family of Jay Abatan, who died at the age of 42.
She highlighted their resilience and the tenacity that they had shown in their long quest to find the truth about what happened on the weekend of Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 January 1999.
Jay Abatan, a father of two, died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton five days after his head struck the pavement outside the Ocean Rooms night club in Morley Street.
Post-mortem tests concluded that his death was caused by a severe head injury.
The family of Mr Abatan, a tax specialist who worked for the accountancy firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers, believe that he was the victim of a racist attack.
Mr Abatan, who lived in Eastbourne, was of mixed race and of Nigerian descent.
His younger brother Michael was also attacked in the same incident by four white men.
The investigation by Sussex Police was criticised in two separate reports. As a result two officers were disciplined while three others received “advice” about their conduct.
Two men did face charges of manslaughter but those charges were dropped.
One of the men, Graham Curtis, 40, of Port Hall Road, Brighton, later hanged himself at his home in June 2003.
The inquest, which is being held at Brighton Coroner’s Court, continues.
Separately, Chancey Cummings, 26, was jailed at Lewes Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to killing Ricky Brown, 25, outside the same night club on New Year’s Day this year.
Cummings, of no fixed address, was handed an indeterminate sentence and must serve at least four years for manslaughter and assault causing grievous bodily harm (GBH).
Mr Brown, who live in Arnold Street, Brighton, died in hospital on Tuesday 5 January from a head injury sustained outside the Ocean Rooms.
He also hit his head after he was felled by his attacker.
