TEEN DENIES DAD-OF-FOUR PUNCH DEATH
AFATHER-OF-FOUR out celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife was killed by a teenager who attacked him in the street, a court heard.
Philip Long, 36, had been marking the occasion with his wife, Hayley, on August 3 last year when 18-year-old Matthew Curtis allegedly floored him with a punch, causing him to hit his head. Mr Long never recovered consciousness and later died, a manslaughter trial heard yesterday.
Prosecutors told the court the couple were caught on CCTV when Mr Long had “two minutes to live” before the incident in the early hours of August 4.
Curtis denies manslaughter and is on trial at Mold Crown Court.
Prosecutor John Philpotts told the court Mrs Long was screaming for someone to help her husband after he was attacked in the centre of Wrexham.
Curtis claimed he was not responsible and said somebody else struck Mr Long when he intervened in an incident involving a group.
The court heard Mr Long died in hospital in Stoke on August 6. He had suffered a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain after he was punched and hit his head on the ground.
Mrs Long told the court the couple had been together for between eight and nine years and were out to celebrate their forthcoming second wedding anniversary, which they were set to mark on August 5.
Her husband organised the night out at the Fat Boar in Wrexham as a surprise where they were joined by family and friends, she said.
They went to several bars following a meal and had a good time with Mrs Long adding: “We were all happy.”
She said the couple ended up in College Street and they became aware of an incident with a young woman “lashing out at a guy” in a doorway. Mr Long told his wife: “That’s not okay.”
Giving evidence Mrs Long said: “We stopped to see if we could stop them from fighting and make sure she was all right. The male was just taking it.”
She said after the couple stopped “an arm came across me and hit Phil in the face” but she didn’t see who had struck him.
“He just fell backwards and didn’t stop himself,” she said. “He just went straight back. I just heard the thud of his head on the floor. I just dropped next to him.”
Mr Long had blood on his face and coming from his eye, she said.
“We were happy and going home. The night was done and it was our anniversary. We just wanted to have fun. Phil was really happy,” she added.
Curtis, of Gwersyllt, Wrexham, denies manslaughter and the trial continues.