Liam Neeson’s nephew Ronan Sexton has died, five years after he sustained serious head injuries while on a night out with friends.
The 35-year-old, who was the youngest son of Neeson’s sister Bernadette, passed away over the weekend in Cushendall, Northern Ireland, with his family present.
The sad news comes 10 years after Neeson’s wife Natasha Richardson died from head injuries following a skiing accident in March 2009.
The British actress fell while taking part in a lesson on the beginner’s slope at the Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Neeson and his sons said they were "shocked and devastated" by the tragedy.
Sexton fell 20ft from a phone box near Brighton beach in June 2014, at the age of 31. A police spokesperson at the time said: “Just after 4am on Sunday a man climbed on top of a telephone kiosk outside Brighton Pier when he fell some 20ft to the ground, sustaining a serious head injury.”
He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in a critical condition after the accident and was later moved to the Hurstwood Park Neurosciences Centre.
The family issued a statement shortly after which confirmed that “Ronan is receiving wonderful treatment from the dedicated staff at Hurstwood Park,” and thanked the public for their “love, support, prayers and good wishes for Ronan.”
Parish priest Father Luke McWilliams told the Belfast Telegraph, who first reported the news, that Sexton’s family had “asked for privacy as they mourn their loss.”
