Jordan Burton, 33, has been found guilty of murder after his victim suffered an epileptic fit and died 15 years after being assaulted aged 16.
Burton was aged 14 when he caused a serious head injury to Daniel Allright, from which he died in 2022. On Tuesday, he was found guilty of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Attack in Lewisham
The court had heard how Mr Allright was hit over the head with a piece of wood and bicycle chain during an attack by a group of youths in Lewisham, south-east London, in September 2006.
Afterwards, he told police he had been on his bike with two friends after leaving his home in Oscar Street when a group of males tried to rob them in Friendly Gardens.
A black male, later identified by him as Burton, asked him if he wanted to fight, before he was handed a piece of wood which he hit Mr Allright with multiple times. Two white males joined in the attack, hitting him with weapons while Mr Allright tried to defend himself with his arms up, the court heard.
Fatal seizure
They all ran off when someone came out of a shop and told them to leave the victim alone. Burton initially denied being involved but later pleaded guilty to violent disorder and unlawful wounding in 2008.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said Mr Allright suffered his first seizure in March 2007 and was prescribed medication, but his epilepsy worsened in the months before his death. He died aged 31 at his home on March 26 2022 having suffered a fatal epileptic seizure in the bathroom.
A post-mortem examination found no evidence Mr Allright had drowned or suffered any natural disease, and post traumatic epilepsy was found to be the cause of death. During his murder trial, Burton denied wrongdoing, telling jurors that he had been pressurised into admitting the assault in 2008.
Sentencing
Burton, of Achilles Street, Lewisham, will be sentenced by Judge Anthony Leonard KC on Wednesday.
