This is the mugshot of a killer who took his friend’s life with a single punch. Paul Brierley, 44, punched dad-of-four Paul Ologbose, 57, also known as ‘Bushy’, during a night out after finding out he had a fling with his ex-girlfriend.
The pair had both been drinking at the Higher Fold Sports and Social Club in Leigh when Brierley got into a confrontation with another friend after he called his son a ‘girl’ for crying, which resulted in him punching him.
His friend went to leave, but Brierley caught up with him and said that he should have told him about ‘Bushy’ and his ex, to which his friend replied: “You have known about this for months, it’s finished now”, prosecutor Henry Blackshaw said.
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Minutes later, Brierley walked over to Mr Ologbose, who was standing outside, and was seen on CCTV ‘bristling with anger’ as he briefly spoke to him. He then punched him with ‘considerable force’ in the face in an unprovoked attack, knocking Mr Ologbose unconscious, Manchester Crown Court heard.
After he fell to the ground, Brierley could be seen making a ‘waving gesture’ to him, before arguing with a woman who confronted him and pushing her to the neck. Mr Ologbose was taken to hospital and a scan of his brain showed he had suffered a fracture to the base of his skull and intracranial swelling and bleeding.
He sadly died later that day on January 23 this year. Brierley pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for six years and eight months.
At the hearing, which also saw him face a trial of issue in relation to the assault on his friend, a judge found that the friend’s witness statement was an accurate and credible account of what happened before the attack on Mr Ologbose.
Now, Greater Manchester Police have released this mugshot of Brierley. Following the hearing, Senior Investigating Officer Phil Reade said: "This incident should serve as a stark reminder at how these mindless, unnecessary acts of violence can have utterly tragic consequences."
The court heard that following the attack, Brierley left in a taxi and told the driver: “I have just hit a guy, I punched him once and he just dropped”. Following his arrest later, he was cautioned, and responded saying: “I hit some guy right, maybe he’s hurt so f****** what”.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Ologbose’s daughter Ebony said her father owned his successful window cleaning business for 31 years, enjoyed meeting new people and would get up at 3am every morning to do his rounds.
She said he would help others in the community, and was a good grandfather to her son, and regretted that he wouldn’t see him grow up. His son David, who was also out with him during that night, said he was ‘a friend and a father’.
Mitigating, Paul Treble said: “All he can do is apologise and accept responsibility for what he did. He struggles to explain why he did it, due to drink, he struggles to remember why he struck his friend.
“It shows the dangers of drinking too much. He deeply regrets what he has done to his friend and his family.”
Sentencing him, the Recorder of Manchester, Judge Nicholas Dean QC said: “Your actions ended Paul Ologbose’s life. This was not only a tragedy for him and his family, but for you too.
“Most problems arise when individuals drink far too much and react out of character. The man you killed was a friend of many years.
“Paul Ologbose was a strikingly popular man and a good man. There was no reason to suppose in any way, shape, or form, that he was the cause of what occurred in the early hours of January 23.
“You were bristling with anger, you deliberately inflicted a forceful blow at a time when you were influenced by drink.” Brierley, of Hendon Street, was jailed for six years and eight months.
Speaking on the sentencing result, Senior Investigating Officer, Phil Reade, said: “Once again our condolences first and foremost go to the family and friends of Paul who is sadly no longer with us.
“I hope that this sentencing provides some comfort to Paul’s family. However, this will undoubtedly affect them for the rest of their lives and this incident should serve as a stark reminder at how these mindless, unnecessary acts of violence can have utterly tragic consequences”.
On remembering their loved one, Paul’s family said: “Although no length of time served will ever be enough to replace what we've lost, we just wanted justice for our dad, who was taken far too soon. This tragedy has broken us as a family, and we will always have a huge piece of us missing. Always loved forever missed.
“We would like to thank everyone who has reached out and offered their support during this difficult time”.
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