Stroud Warehouse nightclub one-punch killer jailed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42114391

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A man who killed an off-duty soldier with a single punch at a nightclub has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Jake Davies, 29, severed an artery when he hit Jack Mitchell, 24, during a row at the Warehouse in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Paramedics were called but they could not save Mr Mitchell, a gunner at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire, who had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

Davies was found guilty of manslaughter at Bristol Crown Court.

Mr Mitchell was a gunner with 32 Regiment Royal Artillery who was on leave when he died.

The jury was told there had been a stand off between Davies, from Bowbridge Lock, Stroud, and Mr Mitchell at about 01:50 GMT after the pair had bumped into each other on the dance floor.

They were split up by bouncers, but a few minutes later Davies approached Mr Mitchell and hit him.

He fell to the floor and did not regain consciousness.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Mitchell's mother, Kate, said she would "never hear Jack say hello or tell me that he loves me again".

"You, Jake Davies, have taken that away, but you'll never take away how proud I am of my soldier Jack."

Det Insp Richard Pegler from Gloucestershire Police said: "I don't know why Jake Davies threw that punch, we will never know, but it was simply not justified.

"This incident demonstrates just how fragile we are and the devastating effect that one punch can have - one punch because of a bump on a dance floor."