Jury retire to consider verdict in teen's manslaughter trial

Wednesday 31 January 2024

The jury has retired in a Royal Court trial in which a 17-year-old stands accused of killing a 62-year-old cyclist with a single punch to the face – which the teenager claims was in self-defence.

The defendant, who cannot be named due to his age, denies a manslaughter charge.

The jury is not being asked whether the alleged victim died of his injuries – this is accepted – but whether the force used by the defendant was proportional.

The alleged victim, Roy Bester, had ridden his bike to a corner shop, where he bought a bottle of whiskey, then got back on his bike.

"This was to be the last time he was to do that," Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam, prosecuting, said.

The defendant, who was driving a car with two other young people inside it, became impatient with the cyclist, the court heard.

The teenager eventually got out of the car and became aggressive, said Advocate Hallam, describing him as "furious that he was being slowed down by an old man on a bicycle".

Advocate Hallam said: "The defendant got out of his car to confront Mr Bester.

"Having driven aggressively and followed Mr Bester, and having got out of his car to confront Mr Bester, if anyone had any reason to be scared at this point it was Mr Bester."

Witnesses – including the defendant's two passengers – described how Mr Bester threw the first punch, and how he used aggressive language, swearing at the defendant.

Advocate Hallam explained that there was "no need" for the defendant to get involved.

She said "Each of his decisions would ultimately lead to the death of Mr Bester."

The court heard how the defendant and Mr Bester bounced "like boxers".

One of the witnesses - who described the defendant as "his best mate" - told the court the defendant was a boxer, and very strong.

He said: "I wouldn't be able to stop [the defendant].

"He is so strong. I wouldn't want to catch on of his hands, especially in the head."

The defendant punched Mr Bester in the face – breaking several of his bones and causing a bleed to his brain. It is not disputed that these injuries were caused by the punch, and that Mr Bester's brain injury was the cause of his death.

Advocate Hallam said "there is no dispute that this punch caused serious injury" and that "these serious injuries ultimately led to Mr Bester's death".

For a defendant to claim self-defence, Advocate Hallam noted, "any force used must be reasonable".

"There is no justification for hitting someone so hard that you kill them."

After the incident, the court heard, the defendant and one of his passengers left, but the other stayed - which the Deputy Bailiff described as being "perhaps heroic".

A member of the public who attended the scene told the court how he tried to convince the teenagers to stay.

He then tended to the alleged victim, who was still conscious – but the member of the public said they started to suspect a brain injury when Mr Bester mistook the passerby's car for his own.

Mr Bester was taken to hospital, where he deteriorated and was put into an induced coma.

Amanda Jeffery, a forensic pathologist who gave evidence at the trial, said he had gone from a 14 out of a possible 15 on the Glasgow Coma Scale - which is used to measure a patient's level of consciousness - to a 13. In hospital, first in Jersey and then in Southampton, his consciousness score went down to a 10.

Dr Jeffery described how Mr Bester was taken back to Jersey, but that his condition did not improve. When he was infected with pneumonia - something Dr Jeffery described as common and "part and parcel" of treating patients with these types of injuries, doctors consulted with Mr Bester's family and decided to take him off life support.

Dr Jeffery described severe injuries to Mr Bester's face - fractures to the floor and the outer border of his eye socket, to the left cheekbone, and an irregularity to the left side of his upper jaw, which she estimated could be evidence of a healed fracture.

A bleed to his brain affected his grey matter, which Dr Jeffery described as "what makes us, us", and was consistent with a strong blow or a car accident. It could not have come from a fall, she said.

Advocate Hallam said: "The death of Mr Bester is clearly not the result [the defendant] wanted. But that he wanted a fight is evident from everything he did and said that afternoon."

Though the defendant had said he could smell alcohol on Mr Bester's breath, the shopkeeper said he did not seem drunk – and a blood test later that night did not show any alcohol.

Advocate James Bell, defending, told the court that the teenager had acted out of self-defence.

He referenced CCTV where Mr Bester can be seen throwing the first punch, as well as witnesses' accounts of the altercation.

He told the jury: "This is a tragic case for everyone involved.

"In anyone's view, this young man did not intend the outcome and must come to terms with what happened and suffer the consequences of what happened, whatever your verdict is today.

"Although this has been a relatively short trial... it is a very important one for [the defendant], still aged 17.

"The allegation put against him by the prosecution is a serious one. It has already changed the course of his life.

He explained how everyone has the right to self-defence – and that this involves making quick decisions in moments of anguish.

The prosecution, in the opening, had asked who had started the fight.

Advocate Bell said in his closing speech: "I suggest that the answer to the question put by the prosecution themselves is that it was unfortunately Roy Bester."

He drew on witnesses in the trial, who had described Mr Bester as aggressive, as "starting on [the defendant]", and as asking him: "Oh, you want a fight?".

Mr Bester, he estimated, was about twice the size of the defendant, and that the teenager had been "backing away" before the fatal punch.

In CCTV footage, he said, "when you look at that view, [the defendant] is walking backwards up the street and Mr Bester, who is bigger in stature, is advancing towards him.

"[The defendant] said he felt himself under attack as he retreated.... he felt it necessary to do something."

In a statement, the defendant had said: "I thought he was going to hit me again so I punched him once in the face and he fell to the floor."

The jury retired to consider their verdict in the case this afternoon. The Deputy Bailiff, Robert MacRae, is presiding.