A violent troublemaker could have killed his own stepson after he repeatedly punched him and bashed his head on a kerb in a "relentless and very viscious attack".
In a fit of rage, Sean Ross told the victim "you're not the big man now, are you". Later he told police: "He can go f***ing die, I don't care. If he does, let us know."
Hull Crown Court heard how Ross and his stepson had a "nasty" history of problems, and he had lost control in the street in "a few minutes of utter madness", reports Hull Live.
Ross, 38, of Brompton Close, Hull, admitted assaulting his stepson, causing actual bodily harm, on June 25. Richard Holland, prosecuting, said that the stepson was drunk and had been lying in the street, in a pool of his own vomit, shortly before the incident.
He later headed further down the road to the home of Ross, who walked out of his house and almost immediately started repeatedly punching him. The victim ended up on the ground and Ross told him: "You're not the big man now, are you?"
He dragged his stepson across the road and constantly bashed his head on the kerb in what two female witnesses branded "relentless and very vicious" blows. The victim blacked out and woke up on a bench.
He suffered a head wound and two black eyes that a doctor described as looking like "racoon eyes". He has been left suffering neck pain and visual disturbances.
Police later found Ross in a drunken state and slurring his words. He told police that he did not care if the victim had suffered any injuries and said: "He can go f***ing die, I don't care. If he does, let us know."
Ross had convictions for 13 previous offences since 2011, including assault causing actual bodily harm in 2007.
Steven Garth, mitigating, said that the victim had, before the incident, been living with his mother and her boyfriend, Ross, but there had been problems between them. The victim was "highly disruptive" while at the house.
"He caused argument and unpleasantness and was disrespectful and he caused a great deal of damage to the house," claimed Mr Garth. This caused much stress in the household and relationships broke down."
The stepson moved out but there were further problems.
"Sadly, however, matters took a turn for the worse," said Mr Garth.
There was another incident and the victim "deeply resented" the fact that his mother and Ross became involved. The stepson was "in a rage" and he and two of his friends attacked Ross, causing injuries.
On the night of the assault by Ross, there was a message from a neighbour, after the couple had gone to bed, to say that the stepson was outside in the street. His mother went outside and found him "very angry and in a drunken state" and kicking her car.
Ross was "enraged" by the stepson's behaviour and the previous problems came to the fore.
"He simply lost control," said Mr Garth. "This was a few minutes of utter madness when the defendant lost control of himself against a background of general and immediate provocation. There have been no difficulties since."
After the incident, Ross had since married the victim's mother and they had now been married for about six months.
Judge Sophie McKone told Ross: "Matters got completely and utterly out of hand. You made the decision to come out of your house and begin a sustained and prolonged attack, including you punching him repeatedly but then, more seriously, bashing his head on a kerb a number of times.
"It's incredibly dangerous because one of those bashings of his head on the ground could easily have led to more serious injury or even death and it's fortunate that didn't happen. There is no excuse for the way that you behaved towards him, somebody who was considerably younger than you and who was clearly in drink.
At the time, you certainly could not have cared less about what you had done to him. This was reflected in your comments to police afterwards. You do not seem to be able to control your actions when emotions run high."
Ross, a self-employed tiler, was jailed for one year.
"Hitting somebody's head on the kerb a number of times is too serious for it to be suspended," said Judge McKone.
