Richard Phoenix, 39, of Robin Way in Woodchurch, Wirral, has been jailed for 12 years for leaving his sister's boyfriend with a devastating brain injury. Phoenix inflicted the injury on Lewis Edwards during an early morning drinking session, then abandoned him outside in freezing temperatures for more than five hours before calling for help.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday that Phoenix, his sisters, and Lewis Edwards, the then partner of one of his siblings, went out for a meal at a restaurant on the evening of January 3 last year before visiting a pub. The complainant subsequently had an argument with his girlfriend, leading to him and the defendant returning to the latter's home on Robin Way.
Attack and abandonment
Sarah Holt, prosecuting, described how CCTV showed the two drinking together in a garden pub in the early hours of January 4, having been "appearing to get on well" in footage timed at 1.57am. No further footage was captured until 3am, when Mr Edwards was seen lying motionless on the floor. Phoenix was captured urinating next to the outbuilding and eating a pack of pork scratchings instead of seeking help for his victim.
The 39-year-old only called 999 shortly before 8.30am, around 20 minutes after discovering his injured victim when he awoke later the same morning. Paramedics arrived to find Mr Edwards unresponsive with a "swollen and bloodied" face, having sustained two black eyes and a large cut to the back of his head. He was treated for hypothermia after being taken to Aintree Hospital and intubated and placed in an induced coma, having suffered a bleed on the brain.
Mr Edwards was given transfusions after his blood pressure was initially found to be so low that readings could not be taken by medics. He remained in a coma and on a ventilator when he was transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital on January 18 before eventually being discharged in April. Doctors found that his brain injury had been caused by "high energy blunt force trauma", with the blows having been inflicted with a "significant degree of force".
Victim's family statements
Ms Holt added: "The prosecution say that there is clear evidence that Lewis had in fact been kicked or stamped on repeatedly by the defendant to the head area. He is still receiving treatment for that brain injury. It may be that he never recovers."
Mr Edwards was able to remember "nothing of the attack" when interviewed by Merseyside Police in June of this year. But the dad to two daughters, aged one and four, told detectives that he would be left with lifelong brain damage and referred to "taking 17 tablets a day to keep him alive".
Jodie Wardle, the mum of Mr Edwards' children, detailed in a statement read to the court on her behalf how they had "got back together again over time" since the assault and added: "I feel like his carer more than his partner. He requires 24/7 care.
"Lewis goes to bed at 8pm every night exhausted and wakes at 8am. By 9am, he's tired and has to go back bed for another three hours. His daughter now sees it as her job to fetch his shoes and help put them on his feet. She asks the teachers to call home and check that her dad is ok.
"Lewis won't leave the flat as he is scared that something will happen and he could be attacked again. He gets upset because he can't do every day life things. He is physically weak and has been told that he can't pick up or hold his children, as his arms randomly lose strength and he could drop them. Lewis isn't allowed out on his own. He never deserved any of this. It's like having an extra child."
Mr Edwards' mum Lesley Collins added in her own statement: "As result of the attack on my son, he sustained a traumatic brain injury and was put in a coma after being left for dead in an outbuilding overnight in sub-zero temperatures in winter. I don't know what actually happened to him, but I do know Lewis didn't deserve what happened to him.
"When I look at Lewis, it makes me cry. He will never get answers why this man did this to him. It breaks my heart to see my grandchildren look differently at their father. They don't understand why he's changed and can't play with them in the park. He thinks that every day is Saturday."
Defence and sentencing
Phoenix has no previous convictions. Clare Ashcroft, defending, told the court: "Your honour knows, as does Mr Phoenix, that, really, the only strong mitigating point he has in his favour is his positive previous good character and the fact each and every one of the letters of reference speak to aspects of his character which appear to be, ordinarily, the overwhelming reflection of his good nature and family orientated character.
"Your honour heard evidence from Mr Phoenix. He has consistently asserted that he remembers part of the interchange in that outbuilding and nothing thereafter.
"Each and every one of the authors of those letters has spoken as to the positive aspects of Mr Phoenix's character, which, of course, makes this incident, albeit an aberration, an absolute tragedy for Lewis Edwards and his family, but also for Mr Phoenix's wider family. Whatever Mr Phoenix did, not one member of his family is responsible for that.
"This is an aberration, in my submission, which, of course, does raise concerns. It is two sided. On the one hand, this has never happened before. But, now it has happened, how does the court contain the risk that Mr Phoenix must present? He has committed this offence in circumstances which would appear unexplainable. This is something that has never happened before.
"There has been some reflection by Mr Phoenix on whatever happened that night. He is now strongly against the consumption of alcohol in any great volume. He understands the significance of the injuries that the jury found, and he accepts, he inflicted on Lewis Edwards. He is still at a loss to explain that.
"What he has been doing is everything he possibly can during his remand time to demonstrate the generality of his character. He is working now as a gym orderly. Before that, he informed me, on his first full day at HMP Liverpool, he was taken aside and asked whether he would undertake painting and maintenance work, which he was well equipped to do and welcomed.
"On Friday, he took part in the prison marathon, which involved inmates. It was a charity marathon where officers and inmates ran around the buildings with the doors opened, as I understand it, 36 rounds around the prison. He was sponsored in order to raise money for a local charity. He is doing what he can. There is remorse, and, in my submission, it is genuine remorse, accompanied by insight."
Phoenix was unanimously found guilty of wounding with intent by a jury following a trial. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a blue Under Armour t-shirt, he was jailed for 12 years.
Sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon said: "Nobody knows exactly what happened. You told the jury that you had no recollection, although you claimed Mr Edwards went for you and you defended yourself. The jury did not believe that your actions were in self defence. The injuries were so severe that he could not recall what happened.
"For some considerable time, you were getting on well. Neither you nor Mr Edwards appeared unduly drunk. Mr Edwards could be seen motionless on floor. You could not be seen helping him in any way. You closed the garden pub up and you took yourself off to bed.
"You returned shortly before 8am. Mr Edwards had been on the floor for at least five hours by then. The scene met police and paramedics was horrific. There was blood extensively on the walls and floor. There was broken glass on the floor.
"The injuries that Mr Edwards received were extensive and serious. He was hypothermic when first found. He had a bleed to the brain. I am sure that you repeatedly stamped or kicked on his head.
"He needs help with all his daily tasks. Ms Wardle has described that she has become a carer for the man she loves, in addition to a partner. Her partner now requires round the clock care. His daughter cannot settle at school because she is worried about her dad.
"Ms Wardle describes the physical problems he now has, which mean he cannot pick up his children for fear of dropping them. Ms Wardle describes that this attack has completely destroyed Mr Edwards' life. It is clear that his life and the lives of his children are never going to be the same again.
"The attack has resulted in a permanent and irreversible injury. The reality is that he cannot carry out his daily activities with any degree of normality. There are factors which make this more serious. You left Mr Edwards seriously injured on the floor in winter and did not obtain any help for him for in excess of five hours.
"There can be no doubt that whatever happened that night was completely out of character for you. From all I have read from your friends and neighbours, that confirms my assessment. You are a father of a 16-year-old girl. No doubt, your daughter is going to bear the burden of your incarceration.
"You were a hard working man. That has continued during your remand into custody. You are doing what you can by doing work to assist in the maintenance of prison and for charity.
"There is some insight. You have made a decision to change your behaviour when you are released to ensure that there is no repetition of what happened that night. There is no history of violent offending or police callouts.
"This is a tragic case. There are lives on both sides that have been ruined by your actions. Mr Edwards' life will never be the same, and you have ruined your own life."
