A MAN has being found guilty of killing his friend following a one-punch attack at a Keighley pub.
A jury returned its verdict on the fourth day of Joseph Smith’s manslaughter trial at Bradford Crown Court.
His Honour Judge Neil Clark told Smith: “I will have to sentence you in due course and that will be on May 22.”
Man died six days after attack
The court previously heard that the sound of “a large thud” followed an incident in which Smith punched 34-year-old Daniel Illingworth in the porch of the Albert Hotel on Bridge Street in Keighley, leaving him lying motionless in the doorway.
Mr Illingworth died from a brain injury six days later.
The court heard how Smith, 40, of Carlby Grove, Keighley, was later overheard saying he had sent a message that “he had finally done it, he had killed Dan.”
He also said it was not his fault and that Mr Illingworth was to blame.
Punch was not in self-defence
On the first day of the trial on Monday, prosecutor Philip Standfast said Smith and Mr Illingworth had been in the Albert Hotel in the early hours of March 7 last year.
He said the prosecution case was that Smith struck Mr Illingworth a blow that caused him to fall to the ground.
As he did so he sustained an injury to his head, which resulted in his death.
That blow, said Mr Standfast, was not in lawful self-defence.
What did CCTV footage show?
Police called to the scene found 34-year-old Mr Illingworth unconscious but still breathing.
He was taken to Airedale General Hospital and then to Leeds General Infirmary where he died on March 13.
Police inquiries located CCTV footage that showed Smith striking the fatal blow and Mr Illingworth falling to the floor of the pub’s porch.
Other footage from earlier in the night showed both men in the Albert and also in The Cavendish, with “various interactions” between them.
Footage showed Smith leaving the Albert Hotel by the porchway with Mr Illingworth, showing “no signs of aggression”, following behind him.
Mr Standfast said Smith then turned towards Mr Illingworth and, without warning, swung a punch, which connected.
Mr Illingworth fell to the floor “immediately” and was motionless.
What did the witnesses say?
Among the witnesses was a member of bar staff who said he had been aware of the presence of Smith and Mr Illingworth but saw no aggression between them.
However, he heard “a loud thud” and found the victim on the floor in the porchway.
Mr Standfast said Smith was saying something along the lines of that he “did not want to fight” with the victim but that he may have realised by then that the victim was in a serious state and not moving on the floor.
Another witness, a female customer in the Albert Hotel, said she heard Mr Illingworth shout, “Come on then. Let’s go outside” with the words spoken “loudly but not aggressively”.
She saw Smith strike the blow that sent Mr Illingworth to the ground and heard him strike his head on the floor.
After the Albert Hotel closed the female customer went to a snooker club and, whilst she was there, Smith came in. She noticed he had changed his clothes from what he had been wearing in the Albert.
The court heard that she heard Smith say that he had texted someone to say, “he had finally done it, he had killed Dan”.
Smith also said it was not his fault and that it was Mr Illingworth’s.
What Smith said when interviewed
Smith was interviewed under caution on March 8. At that stage Mr Illingworth was still alive albeit in hospital in a critical condition.
Smith said Mr Illingworth was a friend of his and that he – Mr Illingworth – had been threatening to stamp on a woman’s head.
He said Mr Illingworth wanted to fight with him and that he was going to hit him.
He told Mr Illingworth that he did not want anything to do with it and walked away.
He said Mr Illingworth followed him out of the pub. Smith said he turned around and did not hit the victim hard. He was just trying to warn him off from going outside.
Mr Illingworth fell to the ground.
Smith said he panicked because he had been attacked previously and did not trust people getting close to him.
He saw Mr Illingworth was bleeding from his mouth. He panicked and ran away.
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