A drunk thug who punched a charity fundraiser to death in an unprovoked, random attack has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
In the early hours of March 5, Kyle Turton, 21, attacked Nathaniel Bierley, 26, while he and his girlfriend were celebrating their anniversary in Nottingham City Center.
Despite being taken to the hospital with severe head injuries, Nathaniel, who was well known for raising money for diabetes charity, passed away almost two weeks later.
On Friday, July 26, Turton, of Clifton, Nottingham, who had previously confessed manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court, received his sentence.
In his sentencing speech, Judge Stuart Rafferty QC said: ‘By your completely unjustified and unnecessary actions you brought to the end of the life of a young man who had done nothing to you.
‘And who on any view did not deserve to die.
‘You did not intend to kill him that’s true, because you are charged with manslaughter, not murder, but that doesn’t diminish the impact of what you did to him and his family, who had the awful cruelty of spending day after day in hospital to see if he would live, tragically he did not.
‘There will come a time for you when you will go home and you will go back to normal life but for them, that will never happen.
‘You didn’t just change his life by bringing it to an end, you destroyed him and destroyed their lives.
‘You for a long time have been out of control. You didn’t need to interfere with an argument taking place if there was one between the deceased and his partner ‒ you didn’t have to act in the way you did and get involved in something that had absolutely nothing to do with you.
‘Nathaniel had not said or done anything to you but you moved in and hit him and hit him so hard that he was unconscious before he hit the ground.
‘If you are not ashamed, you really should be.’
The court previously heard how Nathaniel had been celebrating his third anniversary with his partner when he was attacked.
The university graduate was immediately knocked unconscious and cracked his skull on the pavement as he fell.
He was taken to hospital but later died as a result of catastrophic brain injuries on March 17, 12 days after the assault.
The court also heard how Turton’s friends had described him on the night as being drunk and looking to start a fight, describing his behaviour as ‘aggressive’ and ‘jumpy’.
Detectives identified Turton as the main suspect after CCTV showed him acting aggressively and being the closest to Nathaniel when the punch was thrown.
Speaking directly to Turton, Louisa added: ‘You have taken the life of a young man that was so loved, loved life and was always so dedicated to making a change and standing up for others’ rights.
‘The pain and hurt you have caused to all of us.
‘You have ruined every birthday and every Christmas because you didn’t just take Nathaniel’s life, you took all of our lives when you took my brother’s life.’
In a statement after sentencing, Nathaniel’s family said: ‘As a family, we know that nothing can bring back Nathaniel, however we would like to thank the judge for his comments today and the sentence that was passed.
‘It is comforting for us to know that Kyle Turton will be spending longer than we anticipated in prison and that he will have a long time to think about what he has done before he can see his family again.’