Dean Owen death: John Berry guilty of murder stabbing victim's death

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-33710788

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A man who stabbed his lodger will serve a life sentence after his victim died five years after the attack.

John Berry, 44, who was already serving eight years for wounding following the 2007 incident, will now serve an extra 11 years after the death of 37-year-old Dean Owen, from Orrell near Wigan.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Berry guilty of murder within an hour of retiring to consider its verdict.

Greater Manchester Police called it a "tragic and unusual case".

In 2008, Berry was convicted of section 18 wounding following the attack at the flat they shared in Loch Street, Orrell.

Angry with Mr Owen, Berry armed himself with a machete and a large kitchen knife before stabbing him.

One large, deep stab wound to his abdomen was said to have been "life-altering".

'Rule quashed'

Expert medical evidence showed that medical complications linked to his original injury caused his death.

Mr Owen died from septicaemia in Wigan Hospital in May 2012.

Last year, Berry was charged with murder.

Det Ch Insp Howard Millington said: "In the past, there was a time limit of a year and a day for prosecutions for murder, but people are now surviving injuries for longer because of advances in medical science, and this rule was quashed.

"It is only because this time limit was repealed that we were able to proceed with this case."

Ben Southam, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "From the day that he received the serious injury until the day that he died, Dean Owen was never free from the great damage that it caused him.

"Berry intended at the time either to kill him or at least cause him really serious harm and this stab wound eventually lead to Dean's death."

Berry was ordered to serve a minimum sentence of 19 years minus six years, two months and 20 days already served.