Teenager jailed for life for murder of jogger, 65
A DRUGGED-UP teenager who stripped, kicked and stamped on a jogger in a brutal, unprovoked murder has been jailed for life.
Wen Qing Xu, 65, was set upon by Nathan Richardson, 19, formerly from Bolton, as he went for a New Year’s Day run.
Mr Xu was found stripped from the waist down, with his running vest pulled up over his head, on land behind Plungington Community Centre in Preston, Lancashire. He suffered more than 28 injuries to his head, neck, mouth and genitals.
Witnesses saw Richardson dragging what they thought was a rolled up carpet, but later learned it was Mr Xu. Richardson, of no fixed address but formerly of Bury Road, Bolton, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years after pleading guilty to murder.
Following a trial at Preston Crown Court, The Honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Mark Brown, told him: “This was undoubtedly an unprovoked and very cruel attack on an entirely innocent man after you had taken alcohol and a cocktail of drugs at a party. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was left dying, literally, in the gutter.”
Following the attack, Richardson washed and changed his clothes at the house of his friend Luke Jenkinson, 23, close to the scene of the attack. He later told friends he had ‘killed some Chinese guy’ and was ‘going jail.’
The court heard Richardson said: “I’ve just done some guy. I’ve back-handed him. He weren’t moving, I’ve done him. I kicked and stamped on his head a few times.”
Richardson later went to his mother’s house and confessed he had killed someone – although he told his sister Mr Xu had hit him first. The family called police and Richardson was arrested. The night before, on New Year’s Eve, Richardson had been at a house party in Eversleigh Street, drinking and taking cocaine. He left at 7.45am on January 1, carrying a bottle of cider.
Mr Xu, who moved to Preston from China with his wife in July 2016, set off for his usual morning run to Moor Park, but encountered Richardson at the junction of Brook Street and Aqueduct Street. A witness saw Richardson arguing with Mr Xu, who was ‘slightly built’ at only 5ft 6in and weighing just 7st 12lbs. Francis McEntee, prosecuting, said: “This was a chance encounter. The motive remains a mystery.”
Following the attack, Richardson was seen ‘hysterical,’ running down De Lacy Street towards Jenkinson’s house, shouting: “I think I’ve f ****** killed someone.”
Mr Xu was found by two men who had been at a nearby social club. He was struggling for breath and had gone into cardiac arrest. He was taken to Royal Preston Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Jenkinson was jailed for 33 months for assisting an offender – although the judge accepted he did not know the severity of the crime when he allowed Richardson to wash his clothes at his house.