An Englishman who killed a fellow Englishman with a pickaxe handle blow to the head during a drunken row was jailed for six years at the Central Criminal Court yesterday. Christopher Pointon (25), from Mansfield Avenue, Coventry, with an address at Bray Business Park halting site, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Neil Openshaw (22), from Clevedon Drive, Wigan, Lancashire, on September 14th, 1998.
The court heard that Mr Openshaw was in Ireland for a building contract and was killed days before he was due to return to Britain.
Det Sgt Michael Gaffney, Bray, told the court that the accused man and Mr Openshaw were both living at an unauthorised caravan site at an IDA industrial park in Bray and both worked as casual labourers.
They went drinking at a pub in Bray on September 6th, 1998, and Pointon gave Mr Openshaw his car keys because he did not want to drive when he was drunk. Later that night he asked for the car keys and Mr Openshaw refused to hand them over because of his previous instructions.
Pointon and Mr Openshaw had an argument and later when they returned to the caravan site separately, the row started again. Det Sgt Gaffney said they were rolling on the ground and then they stopped for a short interval.
Pointon then got a pickaxe handle and hit Mr Openshaw on the back of the head. He then realised what he had done and with his girlfriend took Mr Openshaw to Loughlinstown Hospital from where he was transferred to Beaumont Hospital. Mr Openshaw died at Beaumont when his life support machine was turned off on September 14th.
The victim's mother, Mrs Anne Openshaw, told the judge before sentencing: "I hope the court thinks fit to serve punishment which fits this cold-blooded crime. The life sentence imposed on myself and my family is nothing to what was inflicted on my son Neil."
Pointon's counsel, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, said his client wanted to express his "very deep regret" and he accepted that he caused Mr Openshaw's death.
Jailing Pointon for six years, Mr Justice Carney said that nobody in the court could not be moved by what Mrs Openshaw had said but he was required by law to take into account all the factors in the case.
He ordered the sentence to date from the time of Pointon's arrest on September 7th, 1998.