Man fell into coma and later died ‘after a single punch’
A SINGLE punch resulted in the death of a man who was attacked in a car park and left unconscious while his alleged killer got a taxi, a court has heard.
Carl Chinnock, 50, died two days after an incident in Porthcawl on June 23 which saw him punched to the side of the head by Christopher George, in what was claimed to be an unprovoked attack.
As a result of the punch, Mr Chinnock fell into a coma and was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend where he died two days later on June 25.
A trial at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday was told George, 27, had been out drinking and taking drugs in Porthcawl town centre on the day of the incident and was alleged to be “looking for a fight” when he approached Mr Chinnock in Salt Lake car park and hit him in the head.
The defendant, of Heol y Berllan, Pyle, denies one count of manslaughter and claims he acted in self-defence.
Describing the incident, prosecutor Ieuan Bennett said: “The prosecution say Christopher George simply wanted a fight that night and wanted to show off to his friends and have a bit of sport with Mr Chinnock who he knew was not really interested in having a fight with him.
“It was not a fight between two consenting men but a cowardly attack on an older man by a fitter and younger man. Mr Chinnock did not have the chance to defend himself against the defendant.”
The court heard George and friend CJ Sharp bumped into the defendant’s work friends, Dylan Sykes and Trystan Packer, along with their friend Corey Griffiths at the Picton pub in Porthcawl at around 8pm.
They then moved onto the Buccaneer pub on the seafront but as it was closing they bought some cans of alcohol and walked towards an area of disused land near Hi Tide car park, known locally as the “dinosaur park”. Here the group continued drinking and smoked cannabis. Mr Bennett said: “Whatever he took, the defendant was fired up.”
Prior to that, George was said to have been trying to start a confrontation with another group of young men but was told by members of his own group: “There’s no need, it’s not worth it.”
At around 11.30pm, the group walked towards the Sandpiper Inn where George and Mr Sharp were going to get a taxi back to Pyle. At the same time, Mr Chinnock was helping friend Jamie Williams, now deceased, who was intoxicated and struggling to walk. They walked to the Salt Lake car park when they encountered the group of five men.
Mr Bennett said: “Somebody shouted something out and it appeared the shouting was coming from the Salt Lake car park... It was Christopher George who was looking to hit somebody who interpreted that noise as some sort of challenge he wanted to accept.
“Christopher George started marching up to the Salt Lake car park followed closely by CJ Sharp. Dylan Sykes knew exactly what was going to happen and what Mr George was going to do because he shouted, ‘stop, stop’. Sadly, the defendant ignored the advice of Mr Sykes and kept on walking to the car park.”
He added: “Mr Chinnock was standing up with his arms by his side, he was not threatening anybody. Christopher George simply walked straight up to him and punched him in the side of the head, that is not a case of self defence... As a result of that single blow, Mr Chinnock fell to the ground, hitting his head forcefully to the ground itself.”
The victim remained unconscious after the single punch and never recovered from his injuries. He slipped into a coma and died two days later. A postmortem examination was carried out which gave a cause of death as a combination of a ripped right verticle artery in the neck and extensive bleeding to the brain, consistent with a history of collapse in cardiac arrest after a punch.
Following the alleged attack, George and Mr Sharp walked off and got a taxi home at 11.49pm while Mr Skyes, Mr Packer and Mr Griffiths remained at the scene. Mr Sykes called the ambulance, attempted to resuscitate Mr Chinnock and was attempting to use a defibrillator when paramedics arrived.
During the taxi journey home, George allegedly told the driver he had been involved in a confrontation and given a man a “slap” but when he attended work the following day he looked “shocked” when Mr Sykes told him the victim was in a coma.
He attended Bridgend police station on June 30 and handed himself in. When interviewed by police he claimed he saw Mr Chinnock arguing with another man and attempted to intervene when the victim told him to “f*** off” and “pushed himself up” to the defendant while looking “vexed and tense”. He claimed he thought Mr Chinnock was going to hit him and looked “angry”, and it was at this point he hit him.
The trial continues.