A birthday reveller was killed when he returned to the home he had moved out of nine years earlier and was mistaken for a burglar, an inquest has heard.
Michael Robinson went to the house in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff after drinking all day to celebrate his 36th birthday.
New occupier David Gentles, 30, chased him from the garden and punched him. Mr Robinson died eight days later.
Police charged the amateur boxer with murder but the case was later dropped. A narrative verdict was recorded.
Near where I live there was a guy who was a trained boxer. He was walking to a bar in our high street. A guy approached and threatened to hurt him. The boxer smacked the guy in the face and he fell against the outside of the pub hitting his head.
The guy had a very thin skull and the impact killed him. Boxer was arrested and charged with murder!! It was eventually reduced to manslaughter
They dropped it because it is consdered OK to punch burglars, despite what the papers would have you think, and because the fall on the kerb killed him, not the punch. He could have given him a girly shove and he’d have still died. He could have tripped and died all on his own.
It is a bit odd, though, because normally they do pursue it when you’ve gone beyond self defence, ie: chasing the burglar down the street is not self defence.
Yep, he was chasing him, and therein lies the problem. If the poor drunk dude (.ie. the supposed thief) had stayed and swung at him, then it would be self defense. But he ran away, and the other chased him. I know, people can interpret it in many ways, but usually that’s how it’s interpreted as manslaughter.
Another reason manslaughter would have been applied is that the poor sucker wasn’t a burglar, just a drunk dude who got confused and went to the wrong address. Lucky bastard that the charges got dropped.