Spurs star Jermain Defoe rocked after watching late half-brothers grandmother collapse and die at h
02 Jul 2009 - 11:38:06
England footballer Jermain Defoe was struck by a double tragedy when the grandmother of his half-brother dropped dead at his funeral.
Spurs striker Defoe and his family watched in horror as Rebecca Carr collapsed as she was getting into a mourners car.
The group had been about to follow a horse-drawn carriage carrying the body of Jade Defoe, 26, who died in April after being beaten up in East London.
They frantically tried to revive the 64-year-old in the street before paramedics arrived to take over. She was taken to hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.
Her family said she had been distraught at the prospect of the grandson she doted on being buried.
Jade's mother Judy Cobham told The Sun: 'It has just been horrific. I buried my son and watched my mother die on the same day. Jermain was by the car.
'We are all in shock. We are all as a family still trying to come to terms with him being murdered and now have to bear the loss of his doting grandmother.'
Her own mother had been 'heartbroken' at Jade's death, she added. 'She couldn't bear to see him buried and in the end she didn't.'
The funeral last Friday had to be delayed for almost an hour while mourners waited for news and Jade was buried later, with Jermain acting as one of the pallbearers.
The two men shared the same father, Jimmy, but the footballer is no relation to Miss Carr.
Jade- a rapper - was ambushed and beaten up in Leytonstone, east London, in April. He suffered serious head injuries and fell into a coma.
Jermain had joined other relatives on a bedside vigil but he died several days later.
Christopher Farley, 33, from Leytonstone, has been charged with his murder. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey in August.
