Drunken son killed father with full bottle of Champagne, court told

Deekan Singh Vig had allegedly drunk whisky before he attacked 86-year-old shopkeeper Arjan Singh Vig at the family home.

The Old Bailey (Nick Ansell/PA) (PA Archive)

A drunken man bludgeoned his elderly father to death with a bottle of  Champagne, a court has been told.

Deekan Singh Vig had allegedly consumed whisky before he attacked 86-year-old shopkeeper Arjan Singh Vig at the family home in Southgate, north London, on the evening of Saturday, October 30, 2021.

Officers found the body of Mr Vig on the floor of his son’s bedroom with his “head caved in”.

His 54-year-old son was naked and surrounded by about 100 bottles of Champagne, including blood stained bottles of Veuve Cliquot and Bollinger.

He allegedly said: “I killed my dad. I hit him over the head with a f***ing bloody bottle of Bollinger champagne.”

Opening his Old Bailey trial on Thursday, Deanna Heer KC said the victim had been hit repeatedly in the face and head with a full bottle of Champagne causing extensive injuries and almost immediate death.

She said the defendant accepted the killing and that his father had done nothing to justify the attack – but he did not mean to cause him really serious harm.

Vig had lived with his father and mother Damanjit Vig, 85, in their four-bedroom detached home for about 40 years, while his younger sister Rippan Vig lived with her partner.

The family had moved from Uganda to the UK when Vig was aged five at the time Idi Amin expelled members of the Asian community from the east African country.

His father was a qualified accountant while his mother, a zoologist, worked as a teacher.

His sister had forged a career as a successful lawyer and married while Vig did not have girlfriends and helped his father in the family business.

Jurors heard he had developed a taste for alcohol during the lockdown.

On the evening of the killing, Vig’s parents had returning home and settled down in front of the television.

Mrs Vig heard vomiting noises from her son’s room and he told her he had consumed half a bottle of whisky, jurors heard.

The last thing she saw was her husband comforting their son, the court heard.

She called her daughter because Vig appeared “out of control” and “drunk” and she in turn dialled 999, the prosecutor said.

An officer tried to pushed open the defendant’s door and, looking through a gap, saw Mr Vig’s head covered in blood, the court heard.

The defendant said he could not open the door, saying:  “You’re too late. He’s been dead for an hour.”

Once officers gained entry, they saw Mr Vig’s head had been “severely caved in” and it was obvious he was dead.

The defendant, who was naked with blood on his hands feet and legs, was Tasered and detained in handcuffs after becoming verbally abusive and aggressive, Ms Heer said.

Later, he allegedly wept and said: “My Dad is dead. I killed my Dad. I hit him over the head with a f***ing bloody bottle of Bollinger champagne. Why did I kill my Dad.”He added: “Oh shit. I killed my dad. He could have just died from a heart attack. I f***ing hit him with a bottle of f***ing Champagne…I hate French Champagne.”

The defendant allegedly admitted to drinking 500mls of whisky between 7.30pm ad 9.30pm.

At the crime scene, police uncovered 100 bottles of Champagne, 10 Amazon delivery boxes of whisky bottles, and an empty bottle of Talisker Scotch on the bed.

Beside Mr Vig’s body were two bottles of Champagne – one Veuve Cliquot and the other Bollinger – with a “significant amount” of blood on them.

A post-mortem examination identified injuries “entirely consistent with an assault with a full Champagne bottle”, Ms Heer said.Vig has admitted the manslaughter of his father but denies murder and the trial continues.