A four-year-old boy asks a heartbreaking question after her father was killed and left lying in a ditch for 29 hours.

14:50, Thu, Feb 12, 2026 Updated: 15:00, Thu, Feb 12, 2026

Thomas Hunter

His body was found by friends in a hedge on Burton Road (Image: Derbyshire Police)

Tommy Hunter died in December 2023 at the age of 27 after being hit by a car in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, as he was walking back home from the pub. His body was left in a ditch for 29 hours before friends and family discovered him, sparking a frantic search through nearby woods and hedgerows. His partner, Chloe Mefford, 25, is still haunted by the moments after his death, particularly by their four-year-old son, Harrison, who keeps asking the same heartbreaking question: “Is Daddy coming home today?”

She told the Sun: "His eyes are wide and he’s desperate to see his Daddy, who he loves so much. But I have to tell him what I’ve said so many times before: ‘Daddy, isn’t coming home’." Ms Mefford, who had been with Mr Hunter for nearly six years, remembers the very last time she saw him.

The outside of Leicester Magistrates’ Court

In March 2025, Brandon Beesla appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court (Image: Google Maps)

Mr Hunter had returned home after being away for work and, persuaded by Ms Mefford, had gone out with friends for a few drinks. Though she usually encouraged him to enjoy time with his pals, she didn’t expect the night to end in tragedy.

Late that night, Mr Hunter called her for a lift, sounding tired, but it was late, and their son was sleeping upstairs. Ms Mefford assumed he would stay at his father’s house as he often did after nights out, she told the Sun. When he didn’t check in the next morning, worry began to mount. She tried calling him multiple times without success, and she started to feel like something was terribly wrong.

By that evening, Ms Mefford was retracing his steps, while friends spread the word on social media. About 40 people joined in the search. In the early hours of the next day, a friend called Ms Mefford to say they had found Mr Hunter. His body had been discovered near a country road just minutes from home.

Ms Mefford then faced the impossible task of telling Harrison that his father would not be coming back. Sitting quietly with him on the floor, she told him: "Daddy’s gone to the stars."

In March 2025, Brandon Beesla, 26, admitted at Leicester Magistrates’ Court that he had driven in a condition likely to cause danger of injury. He was fined £2,000 and banned from driving for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay a £800 victim surcharge and court costs of £85.

The court heard that Mr Beesla had contacted a friend in the early hours after the crash, expressing fear that he had hit something or someone, then searched the area before leaving.

After the hearing, she told the BBC: "No punishment will ever bring Tommy back but justice hasn't been done."

After making formal complaints to both Leicestershire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now set to review how her original complaint was handled. Ms Mefford said she feels angry and frustrated but remains determined to seek justice and answers for her family. She believes the police investigation was mishandled and that opportunities to gather evidence were missed.

In a victim personal statement she read to the court in March 2025, Ms Mefford said: "Tommy was hit by a car and left at the scene to die alone without any help and without any dignity. If Brandon had done the right thing, maybe things could have been different.

"Tommy was simply walking home from a night out, a route that he had walked regularly as he used to live in Woodville."

She added: "Our home, once filled with love and laughter, now feels unbearably empty."

A spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with Mr Hunter's family and loved ones for their sudden and tragic loss.

"As would be expected in these circumstances, the evidence in this case was assessed in considerable detail.

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"Following the assessment of this evidence, including phone records and a thorough investigation by a police collision expert, it was determined that there was no realistic prospect of a conviction for any offences other than the offence of driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition."