What or who killed Stuart Sutcliffe?

The legend goes that Stu was jumped by a band of thugs outside Lathom Hall in Liverpool, kicked in the head and brutalized. It does seem to coincide with the beginning of his terrible migraines which eventually led to a deadly hemorrhage.

Another story making the rounds is that John Lennon himself was the one to kick Stu in the head. Why? According to some, they were secret lovers and rivals in art and music, and because of this John fell into a jealous rage. Or not. Intuitively I asked John and received the answer that though they got into the occasional fight--like brothers--he did not do this to Stu. He loved him dearly and always will.

I found there is actually no reason for either party to feel guilty. You can find the full report here, conducted by a Neuro Nurse identified only as M.K.

'In summary, the two causes of death that best fit the scenario are Aneurysm and AVM, both congenital and unrelated to any blow to the head. None of the causes of death from a blow to the head fit the time frames or history we have on Stu. More importantly to this discussion, John was not with Stu in the four months prior to his death. No head trauma causes cerebral bleeding and death that long after injury. Therefore, John could not have been responsible for Stu's death.'

The thing to remember here is emotion--it can cloud people's memories and perceptions of events quite differently. I have noticed a pattern to place a lot of violence on John despite the fact that he worked hard to promote peace. He was human and not perfect, yes, but he had more of a track record of verbal assault, not physical. Indeed, it was his words most came to fear and love. Rumors do nothing to heal a situation. And in this case, fact is what matters. Let's stick to that.

Thank you for reading.

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