A Newcastle man who randomly punched and killed a father on a night out in Manchester city centre has been jailed for seven years.
Kevin Wood, described by his wife who had been with him for 38 years as her ‘soul mate, best friend and hard-working’, was punched by Callum Crosbie, 23, of Colebridge Close, Newcastle, outside the Printworks on Dantzic Street in the city centre last year.
Just after 8pm on Saturday 20 November, Kevin had visited the centre to celebrate his wife Debbie’s birthday, wanting to enter the Printworks for a birthday meal before coming across a disorder outside the entrance. Shortly afterwards, emergency services were called to the commotion after 60-year-old Kevin suffered one fatal blow by Crosbie.
At the time, Kevin was trying to speak to the security before suffering the unprovoked attack.
The court heard that Crosbie and his friends had been thrown out of O’Neills bar by security staff for refusing to move from a table and quickly became violent towards staff who had formed a line across the entrance of Printworks to prevent them re-entering. Others involved including Kevin Doherty and Alan Foster, both from Newcastle, were also involved in the disorder and later tracked down to Newcastle. The pair pleaded guilty to affray and were sentenced today to four months.
It was at this time that Crosbie, who tested positive for cocaine and was sentenced for the possession today, can be seen kicking and hitting security staff before randomly punching Kevin to the left side of his face, causing him to fall to the floor. Security staff caught him as he fell and emergency services attempted to revive him, but sadly he was pronounced dead at the scene just after 9pm.
Kevin’s wife, Debbie, is still reliving the events of the evening and is urging people to think twice about punching and assaulting one another.
She said: “Kevin was a hard-working man, he gave us absolutely everything we ever wanted. He had a fantastic sense of humour and he’d have you in stitches laughing. He was my soul mate, my best friend and my husband.
“We’ll never get over it – our lives will never be the same. It’s absolutely crazy that one punch can do so much damage to a person and a family.
“It was like it was yesterday, I wake up every day thinking I’m dreaming and expecting Kevin to come in. It’s been absolutely heart-breaking for all of us as a family and no doubt for Crosbie’s family too.”
She added: “To think you can just go for a night out and a meal on your birthday and something like this can happen and only one of you can come home. I’d say to anyone thinking about punching or assaulting someone not to do it. You don’t realise what you can do to someone and their family, and your own family as well.
“When people go out and they’re full of drugs and alcohol, they think they’re invisible and don’t have a clue about what they’re going to do. I’ve now got a daughter who hasn’t got a dad, and all of the milestones in her life she would have shared with her dad she’ll now miss out on. He’ll never be able to watch her down the aisle. It’s heart-wrenching.
“These kind of assaults have got to stop.”
Kevin, who had recently recovered from prostate cancer not long before the incident occurred, had worked most of the day on the fatal night to fix a leak on his and Debbie’s house. After finishing late, he’d suggested changing plans and going to Middleton instead that evening, before they decided to stay with their plans in Manchester instead. It’s this that Debbie still finds it difficult to cope with today.
She added: “To this day, I regret not staying in Middleton and I wish I stayed there as he might still be here with us now.
“He was a loving husband, best friend and soul mate. He was a dad to not only his daughter, but a stepdad, grandad, brother and uncle and we’re all still devastated.”
