Richmond murder trial hears killer was having affair with victim's wife

Cohnor Coleman, 24, is said to have shouted "you're not such a big man now" after his unprovoked attack on Andrew Jackson, 43.

Witnesses described Coleman as "like a cage-fighter" as he repeatedly punched Mr Jackson as he lay helpless on the ground.

The confrontation - in Richmond town centre, North Yorkshire, on April 25 - left the lorry driver with fatal head injuries.

Teesside Crown Court heard his wife Sarah was also there, and tried to stop what the prosecution say was a sustained attack.

The jury of seven men and five women was sworn in before prosecutor Paul Mitchell outlined the case against Coleman.

Mr Jackson had been enjoying a night out with his friends, while his wife, 38, was out with pals and work colleagues.

Coleman, who has admitted manslaughter, was also in the town centre with his lover's group - which included his mother.

"That evening, Mr Jackson's path crossed with that of the defendant, who unbeknown to him was having an affair with his wife.

"Coleman had just been thrown out of a bar for confronting another man for talking to Sarah Jackson," said Mr Mitchell.

"In the street a short distance from the public house from which he had been thrown out, Coleman launched a vicious and prolonged attack on Mr Jackson.

"He knocked him to the floor and when he was on the floor he repeatedly struck him to the head with his fists.

"Mr Jackson was left on the ground, unconscious. His breathing and his heart stopped.

"He had suffered a catastrophic injury to his brain as a result of the blows Mr Coleman had rained down upon him. He died two day later in hospital without regaining consciousness."

Mr Mitchell added: "The Crown's case is that Coleman's attack on Mr Jackson was entirely unwarranted and gratuitous.

"He was angry, he was aggressive, he was frustrated by the problems in his relationship with Sarah Jackson.

"He took out those frustrations on a man who he saw as one of the obstacles to that relationship, and who had the misfortune to cross his path at the wrong time.

"The Crown says the nature of the attack he carried out makes it abundantly clear that he fully intended to cause really serious harm to Mr Jackson.

"He was so determined to do so that he carried on forcefully punching him to the head and after he was completely defenceless on the ground.

"And furthermore, he crowed about what he had done, shouting aggressively as Mr Jackson lay dying on the floor 'you are not such a big man now, are you?'"

The jury was told that Coleman accepts being responsible for his love-rival's death, but claims he did not mean to cause serious harm.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, told the panel that they are likely to hear evidence which will provoke strong feelings.

But he said: "You are going to have to he hard-hearted throughout this case and leave aside any emotion and sympathy."

Coleman, of Cookson Way, Brough with St Giles, near Catterick, sat in the dock in a black Nike t-shirt and grey adidas jogging pants.

He watched as closed-circuit television footage of the evening was played to the jury and the trial judge.

Two witnesses to the assault in the doorway of The Georgian Theatre, told the police what they saw as they emerged from the beer garden of the next door Turf Hotel.

One said Coleman delivered four or five blows with "considerable force", said Mr Mitchell, who added: "He says what he was seeing reminded him of cage fighting."

Mr Mitchell said the other spoke graphically of the noise of the punches landing, and said: "She says that's a sound that has stayed with her."

The jury was told that a post-mortem examination showed "numerous" injuries to Mr Jackson's head and face, and concluded the principle cause of death was a bleed to the brain.

He also had fractures above his eyes, and a traumatic tear to an artery in the base of his skull, said Mr Mitchell.

The court was told that Mr Jackson - a one-time golf pro at Richmond Golf Club - had known his wife for nine years and they had been married for five.

She had two children from a previous relationship and had been unfaithful to Mr Jackson, an HGV driver, "a number of times", said Mr Mitchell.

The prosecutor said: "The marriage between Andrew and Sarah Jackson was not without its problems.

"The majority of those problems appear to have been caused by a series of extra-marital affairs Sarah had conducted during her relationship with Andrew.

"Although it appears that Andrew had repeatedly forgiven her for these infidelities, they had placed an obvious strain on the marriage."

The court heard Mrs Jackson joined the gym Coleman used along with one of her best friends, Caroline Dryden - his mother - and also played badminton with them.

Mr Mitchell said: "Sarah began to spend time with Cohnor Coleman and sometimes around the start of April 2015, the two of them started having a sexual relationship. The relationship was, understandably, a secret one.

"Neither of them told Caroline Dryden, although Cohnor Coleman said that he thought she suspected something. Andrew Jackson was also suspicious, but Sarah denied the affair, having admitted previous indiscretions, and he appeared to accept her denials."

The flashpoint came when Mrs Jackson, her husband and her lover were all in The Cavern bar in the centre of Richmond on the evening of April 25, each of them out with friends.

Although the other two men were in the music venue, Mrs Jackson led another man to a secluded area, where both Mr Jackson and Coleman walked past.

The prosecutor said: "Some time after 11pm she can be seen on the close circuit TV footage speaking to another man at the bar.

"The two of them then go hand-in-hand out of the bar area and into a small room outside the toilets where they can be seen standing face-to-face and very close to each other.

"The video footage suggest both Sarah Jackson's husband Andrew and her lover Cohnor Coleman were aware of what she was doing in the club.

"The premises are in fact so small that it would be hard for them not to notice.

"On the footage Andrew Jackson can be seen walking past Sarah and this other man on his way to the toilets. He clearly notices them and looks at that but does not do anything. Coleman comes into the same area twice. The first time he merely looks at the pair but the second time he speaks to the man and confronts him aggressively.

"The landlord saw the confrontation between Coleman and the other man - a local known as Coxy - and threw Coleman out."

The mother-of-two, who worked for a car dealership, followed Coleman as he was ejected - both of them walking past her husband without speaking.

Mr Jackson saw them leave and raised two fingers to his friend as if to say "I'll be two minutes" and he followed them out.

Mr Mitchell said: "His decision to follow them was to be a fatal one."

The ferocious attack on Mr Jackson was seen by Claire Watson, the landlady of the nearby Turf Hotel, and by doorman Gary Gardner.

Mr Mitchell said: "Both of the witnesses give graphic descriptions of the blows they saw.

"Mr Gardner estimates that he saw four or five blows struck with considerable force. He says that what he witnessed reminded him of cage fighting.

"He says that Coleman was leaning over Mr Jackson and using his body weight and the full extension of his arm to drive punches into his head. He could see Jackson's head moving under each blow.

"Claire Watson says that she could hear the sound of the blows impacting, a sound which has stayed with her. Both Gardner and Watson also heard Coleman shouting words to the effect of 'You're not such a big man now' as he struck Mr Jackson.

"These words, or something similar were also heard by a witness in bed in a cottage behind the Black Lion Hotel, who describes them as being shouted 'really aggressively'.

Coleman initially told police, as he was being question for inflicting grievous bodily harm, he had been pestered by Mr Jackson, and only struck out once - but was not even sure if it connected.

After the victim's death in hospital two days later, Coleman was quizzed again on suspicion of murder, but refused to answer questions.

The trial is expected to last into next week.