In a random, unprovoked attack, a drunken thug killed a charity fundraiser with one punch and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
In the early hours of March 5, Kyle Turton, 21, attacked Nathaniel Bierley, 26, as he was celebrating his anniversary with his fiancée in Nottingham City Center.
Despite having major head injuries and being transported to the hospital, Nathaniel, who was well known for raising money for diabetes charity, passed away almost two weeks later.
Turton, of Clifton, Nottingham, was sentenced on Friday, July 26, after previously pleading guilty to manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court.
Judge Stuart Rafferty QC stated in his sentencing remarks: “By your utterly unwarranted and unnecessary acts, you brought about the death of a young man who had done nothing to you.
“And who, by any standard, did not deserve to perish.
Even though you are only charged with manslaughter and not murder, it doesn’t lessen the impact of what you did to him and his family, who endured the horrible cruelty of spending day after day in the hospital to see if he would survive; tragically, he did not.
“You did not intend to kill him, that’s true,” the prosecutor said.
“For you, the day will come when you return home and resume living your usual life, but not for them.”
By ending it, you didn’t simply change his life; you also wrecked his and their lives.
“You’ve been out of control for a while now. You didn’t have to act in the way you did and get involved in something that had nothing to do with you if there was a fight going on between the dead and his partner, if there was.
Nathaniel had not spoken to you or done anything to you, yet you went in and struck him, striking him so hard that he was unconscious before he touched the ground.
“If you’re not ashamed, you should be,” was said.
Nathaniel had just finished enjoying his third anniversary with his partner when he was attacked, the court had previously been told.
The recent university graduate was immediately knocked out cold, breaking his skull as he hit the ground.
He was taken to the hospital, but 12 days after the assault, on March 17, he passed away from severe brain damage.
The court also heard how Turton’s friends had described him as being inebriated and trying to start a fight on the night in question, calling his actions “aggressive” and “jumpy.”
Turton was the primary suspect, according to detectives, after CCTV footage showed him acting aggressively and being the one closest to Nathaniel at the time of the punch.
Louisa continued, “You have taken the life of a young man who was so loved, loved life, and was always so dedicated to making a change and standing up for others’ rights.” Louisa addressed Turton directly.
“The suffering and hurt you have brought upon us all.
You didn’t just take Nathaniel’s life; you also took all of our lives when you took the life of my brother.
As a result, you have ruined every birthday and every Christmas.
‘As a family, we know that nothing can bring Nathaniel back, but we would like to thank the judge for his comments today and the sentence that was passed,’ Nathaniel’s family said in a statement following the sentencing.
It is consoling for us to know that Kyle Turton will serve more time in prison than we had anticipated and that he will have a lot of time to reflect on his actions before he is allowed to see his family once more.