Stephen Puttock and Anthony Stretch sentenced for manslaughter

27/07/2010

Stephen Puttock and Barry Stretch have been sentenced at Guildford Crown Court today for their involvement in the death of Keith Nicholson almost 10 years ago.

Mr Nicholson, 62, was struck, kicked and stamped about his head and body as he walked along Manor Road in Guildford during the evening of Sunday 17th September 2000. He suffered a heart attack as a result and died in hospital the following day.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to manslaughter in June this year.

 Senior Crown Advocate Michael Spong said:

The Prosecution case was that these men embarked on a joint plan to attack Mr Nicholson and to cause him serious harm.

There were a number of strands of evidence that strengthened the prosecutions case against them. Witnesses saw Stephen Puttock and Barry Stretch straying into the road and said that they appeared to have been drinking. They also recalled hearing raised voices and seeing a man on the ground with two men standing over him stamping on the man in his stomach and shoulder. The description they gave matched the defendants.

It was of particular significance that two womens rings were found on the pavement at the scene of the attack and one of them provided DNA that linked to Barry Stretch. In addition we relied upon CCTV footage showed that the two defendants were together and moving in the direction of Manor Road an hour before the attack. The time and speed that they were moving would place them at the scene at the time that Mr Nicholson was murdered.

These two men are clearly violent individuals who have shown no remorse or regret for their despicable actions. It was the compelling evidence of the witnesses and the strength of the case against them that resulted in their guilty pleas.