Thief jailed for revenge killing

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A man has been jailed for life for the "brutal murder" of a witness who had testified against him.

Lee Barratt, 20, repeatedly stamped on Joe Mohammed's face as he lay motionless on the ground last year in Epsom, Surrey, where both men lived.

Mr Mohammed was so badly injured paramedics were unable to make out his ethnic origin, the Old Bailey heard.

The judge ordered Barratt, who was convicted at a previous hearing, to serve at least 14 years in prison.

It is plain that you bore a grudge against him and were determined to obtain revenge Judge Paul Focke

The court heard evidence from Mr Mohammed, 37, in June 2005, had led to Barratt being convicted of stealing a car and brandishing a knife.

The two men then ran into each other last year, and a fight started which led to the death of Mr Mohammed, a car mechanic, in hospital.

Sentencing, Judge Paul Focke said: "This was a brutal murder."

"It is plain that you bore a grudge against him and were determined to obtain revenge as and when opportunity permitted."