Gateshead man found guilty of killing his partner's brother after 'mood suddenly changed'
by Rob Kennedy · ChronicleLiveA killer is behind bars after being found guilty of causing the death of his partner's brother.
Pearse Kavanagh attacked Philip McQueeney, 40, while socialising with him and Sarah McQueeney in South Shields in July 2022. Newcastle Crown Court heard the trio were drinking vodka and the atmosphere was pleasant as they watched movies.
But the "mood suddenly changed" and Kavanagh punched his partner, Sarah, in the face, leaving her bleeding. Philip then told the thug to leave his sister alone, prompting Kavanagh to attack him, leaving him fatally injured.
Kavanagh, 46, of Coldwell Terrace, Gateshead had denied manslaughter but jurors found him guilty. Judge Paul Sloan KC remanded him in custody while pre-sentence reports are compiled ahead of him being sentenced in February.
The judge told him: "I'm adjourning sentence in your case to the 21st of February next year. You will be produced at court for that sentencing hearing but you will be remanded in custody pending the sentencing hearing.
"The fact I'm adjourning sentence and directing the preparation of a pre-sentence report is not an indication of the sentence that will be imposed. As you will appreciate, a significant immediate custodial sentence is inevitable. I will determine the length of that sentence having considered all the relevant material in your case."
When police arrived after the attack, they found Philip on the floor. He had a black eye and was lying on the floor and it was said it became clear he was unable to get up from the floor when asked by the officer.
During the trial, prosecutor Lee Fish said: "His condition rapidly started to deteriorate, unfortunately Philip had suffered an abdominal injury and was bleeding internally. This would not necessarily have been apparent to Philip or the police officers."
He told jurors paramedics were called but by the time they arrived officers had started CPR and Philip was in cardiac arrest. Philip was taken to the South Tyneside Hospital where the decision was eventually made to stop CPR, the court heard.
The court was told 1.5 litres of blood had leaked into Philip's abdomen which was the result of a laceration to the small intestine. The injury was the result of "blunt force impact to the abdominal region" that was most likely caused by a kick, the court heard.
The court heard later in the evening Kavanagh contacted Sarah and left "several abusive" messages on her phone. By 10.50pm Kavanagh left a voicemail denying he had killed her brother, the court was told.
Mr Fish said Kavanagh had said Philip attacked him with a bottle of vodka and he punched him in the eye and "might have hit him in the belly" but didn't know. Kavanagh admitted assaulting Sarah but denied the manslaughter of Philip.
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