A mentally ill Jewish club promoter has taken his own life while in police custody after killing his mother, the JC can reveal.

Mark Herman, 54, who strangled Loretta Herman, 85, in their east London home in April, is understood to have committed suicide in a secure mental health facility last week.

Exclusive footage obtained by the JC from his arrest in April shows the unkempt clubland figure being led into the back of a police van as officers rush into their home clutching first aid equipment.

He was subsequently charged with murder after medics were unable to revive his mother, who was found in her bath with compression injuries to her neck.

He had been unable to work due to coronavirus.

The devastated Herman family declined to comment on the killing.

Neighbours say that Mr Herman moved in with his mother after returning from East Asia in early 2020.

During lockdown his mental health declined and while living in the Ilford bungalow Mr Herman attempted suicide and subsequently attacked his mother.

Witnesses revealed that he walked out of the property with his hands raised and did not resist officers’ attempts to arrest him. A neighbour said: “He was caring for her but had mental issues, he suffered from depression.

“They were a very nice family, always very close.

“Before the lockdown he was worried it might trigger him. He was a DJ so he couldn’t work.

“He lived this lively, fancy life and was always on the phone and looked presentable. But then when he got depressed, he looked homeless. His hair grew out and he lost half his weight when lockdown started.

“He tried to kill himself once so he was in hospital for 24 hours but he came out and just stayed indoors. He didn’t go out or work anymore.

“I remember talking to him when he was back from hospital. I think he overdosed on pills. On the day it happened, he was on the phone, talking to someone. We saw on the CCTV that when the police arrived, he came out and just gave them his hands to be cuffed.”

The neighbour said that friends of the family were struggling to comprehend how such a seemingly close family could have descended into tragedy. “He would always say how lovely his mother was. When he started to live here, he was always coming round. His mum always used to say he worried too much about her. I think it was just the pressure of lockdown, it makes people crazy and do silly things. I think he just couldn’t get proper help or counselling as everything was closed and you could only get online help.”

Herman had appeared at the Old Bailey ahead of a trial when he took his own life in custody last week. The Metropolitan Police declined to comment.

Mr Herman had worked with influential record label Defected to launch the Glitterbox club night in Ibiza, which was rolled out internationally.

He founded the Pooldisco nights on the island — which went on to lead a 10-week residency at the renowned adults-only Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel, alongside house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia and top French DJ David Guetta.

Mr Herman also collaborated with the iconic Ministry of Sound and Fabric nightclubs. The troubled music star worked with drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres in Thailand, even developing Resort 12, known as the world’s first premium residential rehab facility dedicated to LGBT+ clients.

In the wake of Mr Herman’s death, Nineties Britpop icon Meg Mathews — who was once married to Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher — and former East Enders star Patsy Palmer paid tribute to him online — despite his horrific crime.

Ms Mathews posted a picture of herself with the killer and wrote: “RIP mark. This photo back in Cannes many years ago brought a smile to my face. We will always have memories.”

Ms Palmer added: “I’m so sad. I loved him deeply.”

This piece has been edited