A man who fatally stabbed a father-of-three after a pub brawl has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years. Brandon Byrne, 23, attacked James Cook in Castle Gate, Newark, on April 30 last year, stabbing him in the neck and stomach as he lay defenceless on the ground.
Attack Details
Nottingham Crown Court heard that Byrne, who habitually carried a kitchen knife in Newark town centre, had been ejected from a pub after being headbutted and bitten on the lip during a brawl. The attack, which lasted less than two minutes, occurred at around 11.50pm. Byrne paused before kicking the victim in the head, then delivered the fatal stab wounds.
Sentencing
Judge Steven Coupland stated that the second stab wound was inflicted while Mr Cook was defenceless on the ground. He told Byrne, who showed no emotion during victim impact statements, that he believed Byrne intended to kill. Byrne was also found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon.
In victim impact statements, Mr Cook’s daughters described Byrne as a “monster” who “destroyed an entire family”. One daughter said her father’s killer was “the monster who stole my dad like he was nothing”, while another spoke of a “type of hurt that cuts through you like a knife”.
Defence and Remorse
Defence counsel Lisa Wilding argued that Byrne had not formed an intention to kill at the time of the stabbing, describing the events as a “tragic combination of a sequence of events that were avoidable”. She noted that Byrne expressed remorse, saying he “never wanted any of this to happen”. However, the judge said Byrne’s remorse was tempered by his denial of the offence and decision to go to trial.
Byrne, who has two young children, will serve a minimum of 23 years before being considered for parole.
