Jail For Impington Man

24 January 2011, 12:32 | Updated: 10 February 2011, 11:13

A Cambridgeshire man has been jailed for causing the death of a 21 year old.

Sam Butler [pictured - right], who is 21 and from Impington Lane in Impington, punched John Stevens on the 1st August 2009.

Mr Stevens was cycling home along Vinter Terrace, off Hills Road, in Cambridge, after celebrating winning a place at Plymouth University.

He then got off his bicycle and was talking to the residents of a nearby flat.

Butler then arrived at the scene in a taxi, confronted Mr Stevens and punched him.

The force of the punch broke Mr Stevens jaw, causing him to fall over and hit his head.

He was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital with a severe brain injury, but died there the following morning.

Butler ran off after the attack and hid at one of his friend's homes nearby.

When Police called the following morning, Butler hid under a sofa.

Butler was later arrested and admitted the assault, but claimed he had acted in self defence.

A jury did not reach a verdict in a previous trial, however following a re-trial Butler was convicted of manslaughter and has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Detective Sergeant Greig Pirie, who investigated, said: "This was an unprovoked attack which caused a young man to lose his life.

While no sentence can ease the pain for Mr Steven's family, I hope they will now be able to move on with their lives."