A MAN who killed a father-of-one by stabbing him in the heart has been sentenced to a minimum of 21-years and 182 days in prison.

Jonathan Porritt was found guilty at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday of murdering John Lewis in a violent confrontation in Middlesbrough on May 14.

Today, Judge Stephen Ashurst warned him that he may never be released from prison if the parole board still believed he was a danger to the public after serving his minimum term.

Porritt, who was found guilty after trial, stabbed 30-year-old John Lewis during a confrontation about items he had stolen in a violent robbery two days earlier.

The court heard an emotional statement from Mr Lewis’s partner, Keighley Waghorn, who said her ‘life and heart broke’ on the day that he died.

She said: “We have had our ups and downs and like everyone we worked through them for the sake of our family.

“The bond and love we had for each other no one could break.

“I really miss you more and more every day and there is a big empty hole in my heart that you used to fill.”

A statement was read on behalf of the couple’s daughter who said: “My life hasn’t been right since my beautiful daddy got took away from me and grew his angel wings the day before my 12th birthday.

“Every day gives me heart aches, especially Tuesday.

“It hurts inside to think you actually won’t walk through our door again.

“I miss you loads daddy but the pain is unbelievable we just wish you were here to see it.”

The court had previously heard details of the violent robbery that Porritt had committed two days earlier which was ultimately the catalyst for the murder of Mr Lewis.

The robbery victim’s friends and family had visited Porritt’s Crescent Road home a couple of times on May 14 to try and retrieve the stolen goods and when Mr Lewis and a friend visited in the evening, Porritt was armed with a knife.

Although he initially hid from the pair, a confrontation ensued during which Mr Lewis was stabbed in the heart with the 11cm blade.

The court heard that after the stabbing, Porritt chased Mr Lewis and his companion into the street and was kicking at the car door as they tried to escape.

Judge Ashurst said he did not believe Porritt’s account that he was acting in self-defence or that Mr Lewis was throwing stones at him after being stabbed because at that point he would have been bleeding to death.

Judge Ashurst told Porritt that he was “acting in anger and frustration” when he plunged the knife into Mr Lewis’s chest and said that the fact he had been armed with the weapon for several hours was an aggravating feature.

Porritt, 28, has 13 convictions for 25 offences including for violence and the court heard that many of his crimes were to funded his drug addictions including heroin and crack cocaine.

There were loud cheers from the packed public gallery when his sentence was read out and the court was told that Porritt would also serve a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for the robbery on May 12 to run concurrently.

In conclusion, Judge Ashurst praised the police investigation team for their thorough examination of a difficult set of circumstances.