Boy guilty of fatal attack on landlord
ABOY who threw a “ferocious punch” at a pub landlord in a late-night row has been convicted of manslaughter.
Mark Winchcombe was left with an “unsurvivable” brain injury after falling and striking his head after being floored by the blow outside the Smiths Arms in Neath Abbey just before 1am on September 1 last year.
The 16-year-old attacker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was yesterday found guilty of manslaughter by a majority decision by a jury following six hours and 40 minutes of deliberations.
A three-day trial at Swansea Crown Court heard how a “ferocious punch” was thrown by the teenager towards the 58-year-old landlord. The blow caused fractures to Mr Winchcombe’s face while he was left with catastrophic brain injuries as a result of his head connecting with the pavement.
Mr Winchcombe had been inside the pub drinking with friends before he had been asked to go outside and try to move on the teenager and his friends, who had become involved in a verbal altercation with a man called Geraint Morgan.
Mr Winchcombe went outside with his wife Christine, and was joined in trying to usher the boys away by Mr Morgan and Steven Davies, a taxi driver who had pulled in to help after seeing the events unfolding.
Before arriving at the scene, the teenager and his friends had been in Cwmtwrch to attend Cwm Fest, a music festival, on August 31. They had all been drinking before going to the event and throughout the course of the evening he had consumed a can of
Strongbow Dark Fruit, “a bit of Jagermeister” from a friend’s Lucozade bottle, several shots, and two cans of Carling.
The court heard how the teenager had told Mr Winchcombe: “Punch me, I dare you” and pointed towards his jaw.
He had claimed during his evidence it was because he felt a threat had been made towards him by the landlord.
He claimed Mr Winchcombe had started walking towards him with his fists raised and he “struck him out of fear” before running off.
The court heard that after the incident, and before his arrest, the teenager had sent out a message on Snapchat reading “Oops” along with an emoji.
Judge Paul Thomas QC adjourned sentencing until March 20 for a presentence report to be prepared. He warned the teen he would be passing a custodial sentence but needed information to decide the length of it.
Until then he has been granted bail with the condition he co-operates with the youth offending team.
Detective Superintendent Darren George, of South Wales Police, said after the case: “Mark’s life was needlessly cut short after he went to the aid of another person in the street.
“This case yet again sends out a clear message of how disorderly behaviour can end in tragedy. Only one punch was thrown during the incident – unfortunately this proved to be fatal for Mark and has resulted in his family losing a much-loved father and husband.”