Three men have been found guilty of murder after hijacking a dispute which had nothing to do with them and then fatally stabbing the 'wrong person'.
Kane Adamson, 19, Joshua Prescott, 20, and Ben Dawber, 19, chased a man who had just punched someone outside a bar in Tyldesley but then launched a 'ferocious' attack on the wrong person.
Thomas Williamson, 30, suffered from mental health problems and was out for a walk to clear his head at the time. He suffered a series of fatal stab wounds, including one that penetrated his heart and lung and sadly died at the scene.
Adamson, Prescott and Dawber have now been told they will each receive life sentences after all three were found guilty of murder following a trial lasting several weeks.
After deliberations spanning three days, the foreman of the jury, who retired to consider their verdicts on Tuesday morning, read their unanimous verdicts at Minshull Street Crown Court this afternoon (Thursday).
Earlier in the night of the tragedy, September 25 2021, the trial heard that a man called David Shuttleworth punched another man, Jake Dinning, who he thought had been 'in dispute' with his girlfriend outside Lounge Bar in Tyldesley shortly after 1am.
At the same time the three defendants, said to have been drinking vodka and inhaling nitrous oxide balloons, were driving by the Castle Street bar and 'took the opportunity to involve themselves in the brewing trouble', said prosecutor Jason Pitter KC.
Two of the defendants, Dawber and Adamson, had already pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery earlier that night. The attempted robbery "was part of the wider behaviour of that group of men that night" said Mr Pitter.
When they pulled up, Mr Shuttleworth ran off as he believed the three men in the Chevrolet Kalos on false plates were 'associates' of the man he had just punched.
"That was too good an opportunity for the defendants to miss," said Mr Pitter, who added the men 'instructed' a 'reluctant' Mr Dinning to get into the vehicle, replacing a fourth occupant who was left on the street.
The car drove around the centre of Tyldesley 'on the hunt for Mr Shuttleworth' who hid in a nearby street, Cotton Close. At the same time, Thomas Williamson appeared and the driver, Dawber, was said to have asked 'is that him?'.
Mr Pitter told the jury: "One of the occupants incorrectly asserted 'yeah, that's him' and it was with these words Thomas's fate was sealed." The defendants got out of the car and went to the boot and carried out a fatal attack on Mr Williamson.
The KC said part of the attack was captured on CCTV and that one resident had captured an 'angry' male voice shouting 'whatever, whatever' while a 'quieter voice' appeared to be reasoning with others.
The court heard Mr Williamson died of 'multiple stab wounds'. One stab wound entered his neck and cut into a major vein while another to his chest penetrated his lung and heart.
He had also suffered bruising to his face and cuts to his hands said to be 'consistent' with being 'defensive injuries'. The attack had been 'ferocious', said the KC.
The prosecutor said their victim was 'someone with a long history of mental illness which included self-harming' - the day before his fatal attack he had suffered 'another mental health crisis' where he had been drinking cider and Jack Daniels, and had threatened to take his own life.
After his mood had deteriorated, his mother recalled him punching his wardrobe before leaving the house, possibly with a kitchen knife and the bottle of Jack Daniels.
Concerned, his mother called police and the court heard the officers who had been dispatched to search for Thomas found him bleeding to death in a street near his home.
The three men attacked Thomas 'on the most tenuous of bases', prosecutor Jason Pitter KC said. He added: "It may seem trite but in reality he was the wrong person, in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Addressing the attack on Mr Williamson, Dawber, of no fixed abode, said in evidence that he was intending to ‘rob him’. “What were you deciding to do?” Mr Pitter asked. “Beat him up,” Dawber replied.
He denied that Mr Williamson was ‘pleading to be left alone’ and said he didn’t see any aggressive behaviour. He said Mr Williamson began ‘swinging’ a glass bottle at him before alleging that he ‘pulled a knife out’.
Dawber said Mr Williamson was a ‘big man’ and ‘didn’t know what he was capable of’ and said he was ‘scared’. He told jurors that he disarmed Mr Williamson by punching him to the face, which made him drop the knife.
“I picked up the knife, he was still standing and he went into his pocket and I thought he was going to get another weapon out,” Dawber said. He agreed he didn’t see Mr Williamson produce another knife.
“I stabbed him twice in the shoulder area. I held the knife like a butterknife, he was bent over,” he continued.
The prosecutor asked: “What were you trying to achieve?” “I was not trying to achieve anything, I was defending myself. I stabbed him to defend myself.”
However, jurors saw through his lies and convicted him, Adamson, of no fixed abode, and Prescott, of Walter Street in Leigh of murder. They will be sentenced at a later date, yet to be fixed.
Judge Maurice Greene told them: "In each of your cases there will be a sentence of detention for life. I have to decide the minimum term you will each have to serve before you are eligible for the parole board to consider your release. I will decide that on a date in the future, you will be told about that date in due course."
Nicky Moore, senior crown prosecutor with CPS North West’s Complex Casework Unit said: "Dawber, Adamson and Prescott were out that night looking for trouble. They carried out a brutal, unprovoked and senseless attack on a stranger.
"The CPS worked with GMP’s Major Incident Team to build a compelling case to place before the jury, including CCTV evidence, eyewitness testimony, mobile phone evidence and mobile phone positioning data to show the three were together before and after the murder. The jury found all three guilty of murder.
"My thoughts are very much with Thomas’s family. Nothing can bring him back, but I hope knowing Thomas’ attackers have been brought to justice will bring them some comfort at this difficult time."
Sign up to our Wigan newsletter to get the latest updates to your inbox
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- Anger over 'dangerous' south Manchester road where cyclist killed and BMW smashed into lamppost
- They queued, then row after row of mourners poured into the park to pay their respects to Brianna
- Mum-of-two left 'scarred for life' after suffering 'beast-like' attack on night out
- Wide-eyed Sainsbury's shoppers on opening day of now lost Manchester supermarket
- Peter Faulding changes mind on Nicola Bulley after discovering what police knew
