Ex-boxer who killed ‘gentle’ man with one punch jailed for manslaughter

Joshua Moore was put behind bars for five years and nine months after pleading guilty to causing the man’s death as the 34-year-old was seen riding a quad bike ‘too fast’ through a park

A former boxer who punched a man in the face, killing him in front of children, was jailed for manslaughter.

Joshua Moore was put behind bars for five years and nine months after pleading guilty to causing the man’s death. The 34-year-old was seen riding a quad bike “too fast” through a park in Beaumont Leys, Leicestershire, on April 6 before he punched 62-year-old James McKeown in the face.

The blow caused him to fall and hit his head, and he later died at the Royal Leicester Infirmary that evening after members of the public tried to help him as he lay unconscious in a pool of blood, Leicester Crown Court heard.

Moore, of Fowler Close, Beaumont Leys, had fled the park after the attack and gone home before then attempting to turn himself in, at first trying to go to a police station which was closed and then returning to the cordon, admitting to police: “I hit him… I slapped him.”

The defendant, who only came out of prison two years before the attack and had previous convictions including one for a burglary in 2016 in which he punched the victim and fractured bones, resulting in a jail term of eight years, admitted Mr McKeown’s manslaughter in a court hearing on July 2.

Some of the victim’s family left the court room on Friday as Moore’s sentencing hearing was played a “distressing” nine-second video showing Mr McKeown receiving CPR by a member of the public in which someone could be heard saying he had no pulse.

The video, which had been taken by Moore’s partner and sent to him on Snapchat at 6.24pm, was deleted from the chat at 6.37pm before he returned to the park to admit what he had done.

Leicestershire Police said Moore “thought it was more important to sort out his affairs”, cancelling a tattoo appointment he had the next day, instead of contacting the emergency services.

Jailing Moore on his 34th birthday, Judge Timothy Spencer KC said: “You are a big man, you are a muscular man, you must have considerably worked out over the years. You are a powerful man.

“The family understandably ask why you did it. I have asked myself, no doubt you have asked yourself.

“I’m quite sure there is more than an element of you wanting to be the alpha male, the macho man. That analysis is echoed in your previous convictions.

“You could simply have ridden on, you could have avoided him, you could have avoided any exchange of words.

“A truly big man would have done just that. But no, you decided to punch him, with these devastating consequences.

“So when one asks the question why, there is no answer – or certainly no adequate answer. It is a question which should rightly haunt you for the rest of your days.”

The court heard Moore told police he had hit Mr McKeown once in “self-defence”, claiming the victim had spat and sworn at him and approached him, but prosecution counsel said there was no suggestion he had been aggressive to the killer.

Two teenage boys who came forward to the police after Mr McKeown’s death said the victim appeared to say something to Moore as he passed by on his quadbike before the killer turned round, blocked his path and punched him.

In a victim impact statement, Mr McKeown’s partner Lesley Wakefield said he was a “gentle, kind man who would never hurt anyone”.

She said: “Knowing what people are capable of has changed me forever.

“Jim was not just my partner, he was my best friend, my support and the centre of our family. His killing has shattered our family in ways that cannot be repaired.

“All I want to know is why Mr Moore did what he did – I fear I will never get any answer to this question.”

Defending Moore, Marie de Redman said he is “truly sorry” for what happened.

She said: “The outcome of his actions were devastating and he wishes with his whole heart that he could change what happened.

“He is truly sorry for the pain he has caused to Mr McKeown’s family and the life he has taken.

“He is somebody who is genuinely remorseful and distressed by the consequences of his actions.”

Judge Spencer said he believed Moore’s remorse was genuine.

He said: “It was pretty well immediate. It has been underlined by your stance in court.

“You have never sought to shirk responsibility. It was clear you accepted responsibility from the start.

“Any remorse you express has, understandably, no traction whatsoever with the family of Mr McKeown, but that remorse is palpable and clear to me.”

He said Moore’s previous eight-year jail sentence was a significant aggravating factor.

He said: “It all bears out the fact you are far too quick with your fists and bears out that when you deliver blows, they are powerful and devastating.”

He added: “This attack was committed in the presence of children. You left Mr McKeown on his own on the ground, having knocked him over and, in all probability, knocking him out.

“A man much older than you, clearly in distress, lying unconscious on the ground. You simply abandoned him.”