Gateshead Halloween attacker who left 'lonely' man 'barely recognisable' given 12 year sentence

A Gateshead thief carried out a frenzied and brutal attack on a "lonely" victim and left him bloodied and "barely recognisable".

Paul Kelly, 38, had been drinking booze and seeking drugs when he befriended a "lonely man seeking company" in Gateshead on October 31 last year. Kelly then went to the man's home where they both drank.

But at some point things turned sour, and there was a "dispute" between the men, leading Kelly to attack the victim with a Jack Daniels bottle and a mallet. The ferocity of the attack left the victim with 17 separate wounds and lacerations to his head, a broken nose and eye socket, and four broken ribs.

After carrying out the vicious attack, Kelly pocketed the man's wallet before falling asleep upstairs. The two men were eventually found the next day, when police carried out a welfare check on the victim, and found him slumped behind the front door with horrific injuries.

Kelly, of Millway, Deckham, Gateshead, went on to plead guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, theft and assaulting an emergency worker. On Friday he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via link from HMP Durham to be sentenced.

The court heard that before the incident, Kelly had been seeking drugs and was seen taking money from a cash machine near to Old Durham Road. Around the same time, the victim, who was in his late 50s and lived on the road, was dropped off by a taxi. It was around this time the pair "bumped into each other".

They then both went to the victim's home where they began drinking. But at some point in the early hours, the victim called 999 saying there was a man at his door who was "making threats to his life" and that he was having a heart attack. The court heard the victim had previously been to hospital but may have been "seeking attention" as he had no visible injures. During his 999 call, he was "clearly intoxicated".

Later, police carried out a welfare check on the victim's property, and found him covered in blood. One officer said that the victim's skull could be seen.

Emma Dowling, prosecuting, said: "[The victim] was found by police covered in blood, seriously injured and barely conscious behind his own front door. He managed to open the door after police knocked on, it was clear he was struggling to speak. He managed to tell police the person who assaulted him was still upstairs in the flat."

More police arrived and found Kelly - with blood on his hands - either "asleep or unconscious" on the stairs of the flat. He was searched and the victim's wallet and a Fray Bentos pie were found in his jacket pocket. He then told police that the victim was a "cracker" who had threatened to harm himself with a pizza cutter. He then spat in the face of an officer as they arrested him.

The court heard the victim had lacerations and injuries to his head, four broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He was rushed to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary where he told officers he had been attacked with a hammer. The man was placed in an induced coma, and now has no recollection of the attack.

Ms Dowling said that Kelly had 11 previous convictions for 12 offences, including for violence. She added that the victim was "easy prey" for Kelly.

Daniel Cordey, defending, said: "It appears that [the attack] was spontaneous and unplanned, arising out of a dispute between the two men who were intoxicated. He is not a man who went out to assault someone. He accepts it was a very serious assault.

"It is his first experience of custody and has not had any drugs or alcohol in custody. He's sought to keep well away from that. He has led a transient life of drug and alcohol abuse."

Sentencing Kelly, Judge Timothy Gittins, told the court he carried out a "prolonged, sustained and frenzied attack upon a man who was almost certainly intoxicated to the point he couldn't resist." He said that Kelly used a Jack Daniels bottle and a mallet to "cause injuries that were substantial, leaving him barely recognisable". The judge added: "[The victim] was a lonely man seeking company and was vulnerable to your attack."

Kelly was given a 12 year and six month extended prison sentence. Eight years and six months of which will be custodial, the rest will be on licence. An indefinite restraining order was also imposed.

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