Man jailed for manslaughter

18 November 2010, 17:37 | Updated: 18 November 2010, 17:50

A man has been given an extra 18 months on his prison sentence after a man he assaulted in 2008 died.

Michael Newson - who's 23 and of no fixed abode - was already serving a three-year prison sentence for assault, after he punched a man in Central Milton Keynes in July 2008.

The victim - 56-year old Francis Collins from Central MK - sustained serious head injuries and went in to a coma until 30th October 2009, when he died. The investigation was subsequently re-opened, and Newson was re-arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in April this year.

The 18 month sentence - which was handed out at Luton Crown Court on 11th November - is in addition to the time he has already served.

Mr Collins’s brother and two sisters asked for statements to be read out in court about the impact their brother’s assault and death has had on the family.

His brother wrote: “This was a deliberate and senseless attack on my brother. He was not hit by a drunk driver; he was not injured by a reckless accident. He was targeted by Mr Newson and attacked by him without provocation with the sole intent of causing him harm.”

Mr Collins’s sister wrote about her brother’s condition following the assault: “He had to endure long months in his unconscious state and none of us can be entirely sure what he was aware of and how much he suffered. We can only hope he was beyond awareness of his dreadful situation. He was deprived of his future and all the potential happiness in his life.”

Det Sgt Mark Glover said: “Newson was caught on CCTV punching Mr Collins in a totally unprovoked and random attack. As a result Mr Collins sustained such severe head injuries that he never regained consciousness and eventually died leaving his family devastated.

“We hope this case sends out a very clear message to people that it only takes one punch to kill someone. Drunken violence can destroy lives and this mindless attack has resulted in the death of an innocent man.”