Page 136 of Land of Ghosts

Emily, you’re more than friends—and he’s dead.

Yes.

And because of that, he can’t die and leave me. Like my family.

Cheered, I fired up the search engine on the MacBook. I typed Tristan Fairfax, Chiswick, murder into Google. There was only one entry that looked promising.

Chiswick Chronicle

Chiswick Man Guilty of Attempted Murder

Posted 15 October 2025 by Liam Maguire

An Isleworth jury has found Mr. Peter Webster, 33, of Duke’s Avenue, Chiswick, guilty of the attempted murder of his housemate Mr. Tristan Fairfax, 19, earlier this year.

In an apparently motiveless attack, the court heard, Webster assaulted Mr. Tristan Fairfax in a brutal and unprovoked incident on 6 June 2025 in the house they shared. Police were called to the property where fellow housemates had subdued Webster following his attack on Mr. Fairfax and found the teenager unconscious from head injuries. Mr. Fairfax, a student, had been taking a gap year during which he was working as a third assistant director on a low-budget feature film.

In a trial that lasted two days, the defendants’ lawyers sought to prove that Webster was suffering at the time from an “abnormality of mind” arising from his military service in Afghanistan and asked at the outset of the trial for the charges to be reduced to common assault, on the grounds that Webster was not responsible for his actions. Speaking for the defense, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Colin Kaye said Webster showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder following service in Afghanistan and Iraq and was unable to exercise any self-control, leading to the attack.

However, Isleworth Crown Court rejected these arguments. Webster was described by the prosecution as a “lowlife” who consorted with various underworld figures. He had been dishonorably discharged from the army in 2014 and had not been able to secure any employment since. The consultant forensic psychiatrist called by the Crown, Dr. Catherine Brewin, stated that although Webster had a personality disorder, he was not in an “abnormal” state of mind at the time of the attack, and evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder was “inconclusive.”

Following the verdict, Hammersmith police revealed that several other charges against Webster, including robbery and possession of stolen goods, were dropped for lack of evidence. Claims of witness intimidation are still being investigated. At the time of going to press, Mr. Tristan Fairfax remains gravely ill at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. His parents, Gordon and Helena Fairfax of Summertown, Oxford, issued a short statement saying that while they were glad justice had been done, they hoped the judge would impose the harshest penalty as punishment.

Sentencing has been reserved until 28 October 2025.

A chill ran up my spine. Tristan must have died in hospital later. Months after the attack. Not here. How heartbreaking for his parents.

Suddenly, the white noise exploded in my head.

Oh no. No.

My grief erupted in my chest in an agonizing wave. I gasped.

No. No. No. Not now.

The horrifying sound of the impact. The deafening crunch of twisted metal and shattering glass echoed through my head. I curled up in the chair, putting my hands over my ears, and clutched my head to shield myself from the memory of the accident that killed my family.

A thousand questions stormed through my mind.