Sister of young man who died after Richmond Row fight decries cellphone videos

The sister of a young man who died following a fight on Richmond Row last week is decrying the posting of cellphone videos that show the final moments of Malik Edwards's life, a young man who she said: "didn't have a bad bone in his body." 

Originally reluctant to talk, Tatyana Edwards, 23, responded to calls from CBC News after seeing videos of the fight on social media and online postings with false information about her brother, who was 21.

She is particularly distraught that people chose to stand back and film the incident rather than intervene, which she said could have saved her brother's life. 

A video viewed by CBC News shows a young man fighting with a larger man. Eventually, he is pushed hard, falls backward, strikes the back of his head on the ground and goes limp. The man who pushed him then drives away in a white SUV.

"It made me kind of lose faith in humanity because people would rather get something on their phone to make a joke, not knowing how serious things like that could be," said Edwards. "People were posting comments like 'He's toast.' My main focus is I want people to know to take care of your friends. It's not funny getting into a fight. We're adults. He got taken away from his family and his friends and a life that he loved a lot." 

London police have said that two men got into a fight outside a bar on Richmond Street near John Street.at about 1:20 a.m. on Thursday, March 28. 

Police said a man was injured and taken to hospital by paramedics. Police say the injured man died in hospital on Tuesday. Tatyana Edwards confirmed that the man was her brother Malik.

Police say one man has been arrested, but have not released his name or any information about charges. 

"The investigation remains very much active and ongoing, once charges have been confirmed we may have an update," said London Police Const. Sandasha Bough in an email to CBC News. 

Edwards said Malik was on Richmond Row that night to meet friends for an event called Wine Wednesday. Edwards said her brother had not been a customer of the Uber driver. 

Edwards said her brother was born and raised in London. She describes him as a jovial young man who cared deeply about his friends and family. 

"He was a jokester," she said. "A stand-up comedian. He took nothing too seriously. He liked to reach out to old friends and let them know 'I love you, we have to see each other soon.' There wasn't a bad bone in that kid's body. He was always making someone else laugh.

"I'm still in shock," she added. "It still feels like a nightmare."

Malik's friends and family held a vigil for him on Wednesday evening at Victoria Park. His sister posted about the vigil at 5:30 p.m. and by 7:45 p.m. more than 300 people were there. Their signatures and messages of support filled two large canvasses.