Murder investigation launched after man dies following Devizes assault

A man has sadly died following an incident in Devizes last weekend.

The man, who has been identified by his family as Wayne Sheppard, 44, of Waiblingen Way, Devizes, was taken to hospital on Saturday night following a suspected assault.

He sadly died this morning in hospital (8/7).

Our thoughts are with his family who are being supported by a specialist family liaison officer. In a short tribute today they said: “Our dear son Wayne has passed away peacefully at Great Western Hospital on the 8^th July 2022.  He was such a lovely son and father and always a happy go lucky bloke.  He always helped out other people and he will be missed by us all.”

Darren Fell, 39, of Hewitt Court, New Park Court, appeared at Salisbury Magistrates Court earlier this week charged with Grievous Bodily Harm with intent in connection with this incident. He was remanded in custody until his next appearance at Salisbury Crown Court on August 5.

A murder investigation has now been launched and is being led by the Brunel Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT).

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, said: “Firstly, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of Wayne at this incredibly difficult and upsetting time - we have specialist officers in place to support them.

“I have now declared this as a murder investigation, which I understand will no doubt cause concern amongst the tight knit community within Devizes. I would like to reassure residents that a man has been charged with GBH with intent in relation to the incident and we remain in contact with the CPS regarding this. Please be reassured that there is no wider risk to the public and we are conducting extremely thorough enquiries as part of our investigation.

“We would like to renew our appeal for witnesses to the incident – did you see or hear anything suspicious in the area of Hewitt Court, New Park Street, on Saturday evening? Do you have dash cam, CCTV or doorbell footage which could be relevant to our investigation? If you’ve not already spoken to police, please get in touch by calling 101 and quote crime reference number 54220069022. Alternatively, call CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”