Stafford Crown Court Hears Pub Boss Died from Unsurvivable Punch to the Neck in Murder Trial

A pub boss died after suffering an unsurvivable punch to the neck delivered with the force and stance of an experienced fighter, a murder trial at Stafford Crown Court has heard.

Matthew O'Gara, 44, who ran The Plough pub in Huddlesford, Staffordshire, died in hospital two days after being struck at the Ricco and Loren bar on Market Street in Lichfield on 24 May.

The defendant, 36-year-old Billy Allison, of Cropthorne Road in Shirley, Solihull, has admitted manslaughter but denies murder. He has also admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm against another man, Adam Cooper, during the same incident, but denies doing so intentionally.

Prosecuting barrister Tim Hannam KC told the court that O'Gara received a full-force blow which broke several bones in his neck and split a vital artery supplying blood to his brain.

O'Gara never regained consciousness following the attack, with the prosecutor stating that the impact caused an injury that was unsurvivable.

The force of the strike was described as being so severe that the sound of the impact was audible above the music system playing inside the venue.

Jurors heard that the 6ft 5in, muscular defendant had been visiting Lichfield with his girlfriend and two friends, having consumed alcohol throughout the day prior to attacking two men who were complete strangers to him.

The court was shown closed-circuit television footage depicting the sequence of events inside and outside the premises.

The prosecution detailed how Cooper, who was part of the group accompanying O'Gara, suffered a fractured eye socket, a fractured nose and damage to a dental implant after Allison stepped towards him and delivered two strikes.

Subsequent footage from a rear courtyard showed Cooper receiving assistance inside a wooden shelter while Allison exited through a gate.

Prosecutors alleged that after leaving the scene, Allison swapped t-shirts with a friend in an attempt to pull the garment over his head and conceal his face from security cameras before proceeding to a hotel, where police arrested him at 5am on 25 May.

Setting out the Crown's case, Hannam submitted that Allison acted with physical control and steady poise in the moments preceding the fatal strike.

The prosecutor stated that Allison approached O'Gara from behind, leaving the victim completely oblivious to the impending assault and unable to defend himself.

The jury was told that Allison subsequently failed to render assistance, instead making his exit through a back entrance while thinking rationally and remaining entirely in control of his actions.

Emphasising the defendant's physical stature, strength and fighting capability alongside his conduct before and after the incident, the prosecution submitted that the fatality was not a one-punch manslaughter but a deliberate act of murder resulting from a maximum-force blow delivered directly to the victim's neck.