Man guilty of murdering Craig Gill in Newton Aycliffe bar

Richard Smith-Slater delivered a volley of four knockout blows to Craig Gill's head when they clashed inside Blake Bar last year.

The 33-year-old fatally knocked out Mr Gill moments after he had whipped the 61-year-old with his dog lead when they argued about the murderer's Staffordshire bull terrier wandering around the bar.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Mr Gill died several days after he was assaulted on July 8 last year.

Craig Gill (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Jurors watched CCTV footage from the bar which captured the moment when Smith-Slater's powerful blows rendered Mr Gill unconscious and he fell to the floor unable to protect himself.

The harrowing footage showed the defendant leaving the pub in Newton Aycliffe town centre as Mr Gill lay on the ground fighting for his life.

Richard Smith-Slater (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Nick Dry, prosecuting, told the jury that the defendant took a sneaky chance to deliver a ‘punishment’ beating believing that he was a law unto himself in the bar before swanning out of the premises.

A forensic officer working inside Blakes bar in Newton Aycliffe (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)

Police body-worn footage recorded when he was arrested caught him telling officers that he had "sorted out a d***head" in the pub and "had done nothing wrong".

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Giving evidence, the father-of-two said he reacted instinctively when Mr Gill grabbed him and punched him four times to the face rendering him unconscious.

He denied working as an ‘unofficial doorman’ in the Newton Aycliffe bar during the day when there were no accredited door staff working.

Jurors took three hours of deliberation before convicting the defendant of murder.

Smith-Slater, of Bury Road, Newton Aycliffe, will be sentenced in the morning (Tuesday, January 15).