AN AMERICAN man has been named as the second victim from the weekend attack at Forbury Gardens.
Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, worked at a Dutch pharmaceutical company in Reading. He moved to England from Philadelphia 15 years ago.
Speaking to the Northeast Philadelphia, Robert Ritchie, described his son as an “absolutely fabulous guy. I absolutely love my son with all of my heart and all of my soul.
Mr Ritchie said: “We’re mourning, and we’re trying to decide what we’re going to do,” he said. “It’s 3,500 miles away. They are still in lockdown over there with the coronavirus, and I don’t know what else to say.”
Friend of Mr Ritchie-Bennett, Neil Jarvis said: “I met Joe when he was a bartender at the Wynford Arms. He was a fun, caring guy. It sounds cliche but he was the life of the party.
“He was colourful and lively — you knew once he had stepped into a room.”
