THE grieving partner of
father-of-two Jay Abatan today spoke of her loss.
Tanya Haynes, 30, said:
"Jay was a life force, the most alive person you would ever meet, and the
most wonderful daddy in the world."
Mr Abatan, 42, died from
severe head injuries after a dispute at a Brighton taxi-rank.
Tanya, the mother of
their two children, a boy of seven and girl of five, spent a week by her
partner's bedside at Brighton's Royal Sussex County Hospital, holding his hand
and talking to him.
She cradled him in his
arms when he died, just hours after medical staff decided to switch off his
life support machine.
Daughter
Tanya broke the news to
her children. She said: "My son is just like Jay - he was very brave - and
my daughter is more like me, more emotional, and expressed exactly what she
felt.
"She said she would
never be able to say 'daddy' again and would only see the word in her reading
books.
"Jay was the most
wonderful daddy in the world and the children's loss is the biggest pain for
me.
"My daughter was his
beautiful angel and he adored her. My son was his best friend. When Jay was
around, all you heard was laughter. He made life an adventure for them.
"At parties, he
would roll around the floor, and play games or football with them.
He loved cooking, feeding
people and entertaining. My son is now cooking Chinese food like he did."
Tanya and Jay, of Meads,
Eastbourne, met nine years ago through friends and Tanya knew early in their
relationship that "he was the man I knew I wanted to be with for
life."
Jay, born in Lewisham,
south London, was one of three children. His late mother was from Kent and his
father from Nigeria.
At six, he went to
Nigeria, where his father had business interests.
He came back to Britain
when he was 18 and set up home in Worthing, where he had an aunt.
He studied accountancy
and worked locally before joining one of the world's largest firms,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers in London.
He was a stocks and
shares tax specialist and was earmarked for promotion to senior manager later
this year.
Friend
Tanya, a hospital
psychotherapist, said: "Jay made everyone feel comfortable. So many people
considered him their best friend."
Jay played football for a
Worthing team until the couple moved to Eastbourne two years ago.
He gave up soccer but
kept fit playing squash and cycling.
His younger brother
Michael is said to be shattered by his death, as is his sister Michelle, who
has flown from her home in Jamaica.
Tanya thanked her children's
school, Brighton police and hospital staff, in particular two nurses Carolyn
Keys and Peter Morgan, for their professionalism and dedication.
Police, meanwhile, are
trying to trace a taxi driver of Middle Eastern appearance who picked up two
women and a man in Grand Parade at about 3am on January 24, when Jay was
injured.
The driver took the man
to Morley Street and the woman to Aymer Road, Hove.
Two men have been charged
with manslaughter following Jay's death. Peter Bell, 35, of Addison Road, Hove,
and Graham Curtis, 37, of Norfolk Square, Brighton, were appearing before
magistrates today. They are also accused of affray and causing actual bodily
harm.