Mum shares video of ‘coward’ killing her son with punch from behind
THIS WAS NO ‘FIGHT, SHE SAYS, AS FAMILY APPEALS FOR TOUGHER LAWS
THE family of a man killed with a single punch have shared agonising footage of the moment he died.
Becky White’s son, Dean Skillin, 20, was killed by a “cowardly” punch, thrown from behind by Brandon Sillence outside the Waverley Hotel on Station Road in Bangor in September 2020.
Sillence, 25, delivered the fatal blow as Dean can be seen trying to act as peacemaker to defuse an altercation between his cousin Taylor Lock and another man outside the pub.
CCTV footage shows the horrifying moment Dean was killed as he was being knocked backwards without warning by Sillence in what a jury heard described as a “forceful, swinging punch”.
Sillence then goes on to assault Mr Lock.
Sillence, from Bangor, described in court as a “boxing enthusiast”, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced in December to 10 years in prison.
He also admitted assault causing actual bodily harm on Mr Lock.
Dean’s family took the incredibly difficult decision to share the moment Dean was killed as they step up their campaign for tougher sentences for single-punch killers.
They have launched a petition, signed by more than 17,000, calling on the UK Government to change the sentencing for one-punch assaults so that it matches that for murder convictions.
Deans’ mum, Becky, explained why she shared the footage on Facebook: “I wanted to put it out there that when my son was killed, there was no fight or words exchanged between Dean and Brandon.”
He was in fact trying to prevent a fight breaking out between his cousin and a friend of Sillence, she added.
“You can clearly see by the video that the police have released, that Brandon ‘Coward’ Sillence punched my son from behind.
“Dean couldn’t even see it coming. “It killed him instantly because he hit him that hard and forcefully.
“What sort of coward hits someone from behind and leaves him on the floor, then walks away knowing the damage he had done?”
She added: “How is this not an intentional act of violence to cause harm?
“To all that defended Brandon by saying it was a pub fight, shame on all of you.
“My son and nephew were attacked by this coward, Brandon.
“As the judge said he was willing to punch his own shadow that night, which resulted in my son’s death and affected our family lives forever”
Sillence was jailed a few days after the jury found him not guilty of murder, but the court case and sentence was a huge disappointment to the family.
While nothing will bring Dean back, his family hope to see change which would give others living with the consequences of a fatal punch a greater sense of justice.