A teenage thug who killed a grandfather with one punch when he attempted to break up a fight has been jailed for less than five years.
Peacemaker Simon Beston, 55, had been out for a romantic meal with his partner and stopped to give a homeless couple some money when a group of drunk 19-year-olds who had spent the day at Newcastle Racecourse began attacking a stranger.
Mr Beston intervened and attempted to calm the youths down before a female member of the gang started arguing with his partner, Maxine, and pulled her to the ground in Newcastle city centre.
Mr Beston, of Sunderland, went to protect her but was bundled to the floor and then kicked multiple times by Lola Charlton and Shayne Cook, both now 20.
He then scrambled to his feet and made a ‘placatory gesture’ with his hands before he was punched to the side of the face by Ethan Cockram, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
The blow knocked Mr Beston unconscious, and he hit his head on the kerb.
He was found to have suffered a fractured skull and severe brain swelling following the incident on July 25 last year and died in hospital three weeks later on August 16.
Cockram, now 21, was on police bail at the time of the offence for punching two other strangers on a night out just three months earlier. One of his victims was seriously injured, according to the BBC.
After pleading guilty to manslaughter, Cockram, of Wallsend, North Tyneside, was jailed for four years and 10 months – while Mr Beston’s devastated family described suffering a ‘life sentence.’
Under new guidelines, Cockram may only have to serve as little as 40 per cent of his sentence in custody – just 23 months.
Simon Beston, 55, died in hospital in August last year, three weeks after being assaulted in Newcastle city centre
Ethan Cockram, 21, of Wallsend, North Tyneside, pleaded guilty to manslaughter
Cook, who pleaded guilty to affray, was sentenced to 18 months while Charlton received a nine-month suspended sentence and 120 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard that Mr Beston and his partner had been out for a meal in Newcastle when they encountered Cockram and his friends at about 10.15pm.
The group had been celebrating Ladies Day at the racecourse and were said to have been ‘dressed in racing finery’.
After leaving the racecourse they went into Newcastle city centre to visit more bars.
As they neared Mr Beston and his partner, who were talking to a homeless couple, Cockram forcefully pushed an unknown man into a parked car before Cook punched him.
Mr Beston then intervened to try and calm the group down but was then set upon himself and fatally injured.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Beston’s partner, Maxine, said she now struggled with survivor’s guilt.
‘I went out for a meal with my partner Simon, expecting it to be an ordinary, romantic evening together,’ she said.
‘The consequences of that night have been devastating, and I know I will live with them for the rest of my life.
‘The biggest impact, and the hardest thing for me to put into words, is that I lost my partner Simon.
‘He was the person I shared my home, my life and my future with. In one moment, everything we had planned and everything I knew was taken away from me.’
Lola Charlton, 20, pleaded guilty to affray and was given a suspended prison sentence
Shayne Cook pleaded guilty to affray and was sentenced to 18 months in custody
She added: ‘I have also struggled enormously with survivor’s guilt. Knowing that I walked away from that night while Simon lost his life is something I find incredibly difficult to live with.
‘They did not just take Simon away from me. They robbed so many people of a future with him.
‘They left his mother without one of her sons, his brother without his brother, his daughter without her dad and his granddaughter without her grandad.
‘Simon had a family who loved him. He had people who needed him, plans for the future and a life that should have continued.’
Mr Beston’s mother, Mary, said that when she saw her son in hospital ‘my world just fell apart.’
‘What I saw will stay with me for the rest of my life,’ she said.
‘My son lying there with so many tubes, monitors and all I wanted to do was give him a hug.
‘Since then, I cannot seem to get my life back in order as he did everything for me. He did my shopping, looked after my garden and my car.
‘I still wait for him opening the front door and shouting: “It’s just me mam, do you fancy a cuppa?”’
His daughter, Chloe, said: ‘I did not lose my Dad due to old age or ill health, I lost him as a result of someone else’s actions which has made the grieving process even more difficult and much more traumatic.’
In mitigation for Cockram, Josh Normanton said the killer was ‘haunted’ by Mr Beston’s death.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Ashley Loader, of Northumbria Police, said: ‘Simon’s death shows how quickly acts of violence can escalate and the impact they can have.
‘A moment of aggression has resulted in a family losing a loved one, with the effects of that loss being felt by many people for years to come.
‘Everyone has a responsibility to think before they act. Do not let a momentary lapse in judgement become something you regret for the rest of your life.’
