Brandon Byrne, 23, was habitually carrying a kitchen knife in Newark town centre when he fatally attacked dad-of-three James Cook as he lay defenceless on the ground
Victim James Cook(Image: Nottinghamshire Police )
A man who murdered a much-loved dad-of-three by stabbing him in the neck and stomach after a pub brawl has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years.
Brandon Byrne, 23, was habitually carrying a kitchen knife in Newark town centre when he fatally attacked James Cook as he lay “defenceless” on the ground, a trial at Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Byrne had been ejected from the rear of the pub that night after he was headbutted and suffered a bite injury to his lip during a brawl, the court was told.
During the attack, which happened in Castle Gate at around 11.50pm on April 30 last year, Byrne “paused” before he kicked the victim to the head.
Passing sentence today, Judge Steven Coupland said the second stab wound to 40-year-old Mr Cook’s body was inflicted while he was defenceless on the ground.
Byrne, dressed in a blue suit and a red tie for his sentencing hearing, was found guilty of murder on Thursday – the first anniversary of the killing. He showed no emotion during the reading of victim impact statements describing him as a “monster” who had cruelly “destroyed an entire family”.
Judge Coupland told Byrne, who pleaded guilty to the separate charge of possessing an offensive weapon, that he believed he had intended to kill Mr Cook.
Judge Coupland told the defendant: “In an incident that lasted less than two minutes you murdered James Cook.
“He was a hard worker, someone who showed love and a desire to help others and someone who was described as cheeky and a charmer. His loss will be deeply felt by his family and friends.
“This case is a tragic example of what can happen when anyone carries a knife in public. What you did shows you were acting out of revenge. Rather than stay and help Mr Cook you walked off and left him. I am satisfied there was an intention to kill.”
In a victim impact statement, one of Mr Cook’s daughters said her father’s killer was “the monster who stole my dad like he was nothing”.
And another daughter said she now feels “a type of hurt that cuts through you like a knife that no one should go through”.
Byrne, who has two young children, had been provoked inside the pub, the judge said, adding: “I accept that you are remorseful that James Cook is dead. But that remorse is tempered by the fact that you chose to deny the offence and have a trial.”
Offering mitigation prior to sentencing, defence KC Lisa Wilding submitted that Byrne had not formed an intention to kill at the time of the stabbing.
She said: “The events that took place were the tragic combination of a sequence of events that were avoidable by him but also not wholly of the defendant’s making. In his words he holds his hands up to it. He never wanted any of this to happen.”
