A man who brutally attacked a male model while dressed as a clown after a Halloween party has been found guilty of murder. Bhekisani Matabiswana, 26, severely assaulted Luke Harden, 36, shortly after midnight on November 1 after attending the event at Rosemount Working Men's Club in Stacksteads, Lancashire.
The killer, still wearing his outfit for the night, punched, kicked and stamped on Mr Harden, causing catastrophic injuries to his head, face and neck, Preston Crown Court heard. Emergency services rushed to the scene but were unable to save the victim.
Matabiswana was charged with the model's murder, which he denied before being released under investigation. He then attempted to leave the UK, buying a ticket to Johannesburg, South Africa, close to his native Zimbabwe and where his mother lives. However, he was arrested in the departure lounge at Manchester Airport before boarding his flight.
A jury found Matabiswana guilty of the model's murder after 12 hours' deliberation. The killer admitted in court he had lied about finding Mr Harden collapsed in the street, accepting he had in fact punched him around five times. But he repeatedly denied kicking and stamping on the victim during the attack.
He insisted he had acted in self-defence after Mr Harden stood in front of him and his then-partner, Natalie Chadwick, on their walk back from the party, and reached towards Ms Chadwick's face. He said that when he grabbed Mr Harden's arm to stop him, Mr Harden turned his attention towards Matabiswana and punched him in the mouth, which led to the defendant punching him back.
Prosecutor Nicholas Rhodes told the court the attack 'must have been so sudden, quick and brutal' that the 'drunken' victim had 'no chance to defend himself'. He said Mr Harden was felled by punches 'so severe he was laid out on the ground' before Matabiswana kicked him, causing the catastrophic injuries from which he died.
Home Office pathologist Dr Charles Wilson concluded Mr Harden had been the subject of a 'forceful assault,' with much of the injury caused by punching and some by impact from footwear. There were no defensive injuries on Mr Harden and 'no injuries of any significance whatsoever' on the defendant.
Matabiswana repeatedly claimed he had tried to save Mr Harden's life by performing CPR in the street. He said he knelt beside him, checked for a pulse and began chest compressions before other people took over. But Alan Williams, who was returning to his car after babysitting nearby, told the jury he never saw the defendant carry out CPR. He said it was others, including a passer-by and Mr Harden's friend, Matthew Oldham, who were giving compressions as emergency services arrived.
A paramedic who came to the scene also said a man in a Hawaiian shirt, Mr Oldham, was providing 'very good quality' CPR and the man in the clown costume 'played no part at all' in the treatment. A forensic scientist said bloodstains on Matabiswana's shirt and trousers matched the victim's DNA and provided 'extremely strong support' for the view he had punched an 'injured and bleeding' Mr Harden.
After being released under investigation, the killer bought plane tickets on a new phone purchased from the CeX store in Rochdale, which allowed his movements to be tracked to Manchester Airport. He told his mother and a woman who the prosecution said was his girlfriend that he had beaten someone up after they had been raping a woman in the street. Matabiswana admitted lying about this, saying he did not want his mother to find out he had been drinking and that he had been with Ms Chadwick, who she did not approve of. He will return to court on Monday to be sentenced.
