A teenager has been jailed for life for the murder of a Bishop Auckland dad when a long-running feud erupted into fatal violence.
Jack Lawson stabbed Craig Yorke three times when two groups of friends clashed in the early hours of the morning following several hours of ‘cat and mouse’ activity.
The 18-year-old was determined to organise a one-on-one fist fight with Jack Richardson and spent hours rallying his friends as her pursued his quarry around Bishop Auckland and Shildon.
And then the two groups finally met up on a field in Eldon Lane and an explosion of violence left the 28-year-old fighting for his life.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Mr Yorke staggered to nearby housing in a desperate attempt to get medical help before collapsing in the street and dying despite the best efforts of medics.
Peter Moulson KC, prosecuting, said: "He was fatally stabbed at 2.15am when he sustained three stab wounds to his body and defensive wounds to his hands.
"Lawson said he was 'toe-to-toe' with the man (who he believed he was Mr Richardson) before making his way back to his car."
The court heard how Lawson videoed himself on the way to the scene with a knife on his lap but the video was never shared on social media.
He said the teenager then inflicted the three stab wounds to Mr Yorke.
A further video showed Lawson carrying a knife and a wooden stick before the teenager filmed himself driving away with the blood-stained knife on his lap.
Mr Moulson said both of these videos were posted on Snapchat. The knife has never been recovered.
In heart-breaking victim impact statements, Mr Yorke’s mother and partner spoke of the devastation the family felt after Craig was stabbed to death.
His partner, Chloe Porter, said his death has left their daughter devastated and 'due to being so young, she will have no memory of her dad'.
She said she was pregnant when Craig died and he will never get to meet the son that he always wanted.
The jury had heard how Lawson had rounded-up up Connor Vint, Marley Roles, Harry Brown and a teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Mr Richardson had recruited Craig Yorke and Jordan Hodgson to support him during the proposed fair fight.
Throughout his evidence, Lawson denied that he ever intended to cause serious injury to Mr Yorke and only confronted him after he had started attacking the Astra containing two of his friends.
Lawson, of Surtees Drive, Willington, was found guilty or murder following a trial after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
David Brooke KC, representing Lawson, said his client had no previous convictions and the events of that night were 'completely out of character' for the teenager.
He said Lawson accepted that he acted unlawfully and entered a guilty plea to manslaughter before the trial started.
"He was plainly somebody who did not think about the consequences of what he was doing," he said.
Mr Justice Soole said: "Your offence arose from a longstanding and simmering dispute you had with Jack Richardson who was 18 at the time of the murder."
The judge said the feud started when Mr Richardson robbed Lawson of a friend's jewellery several months earlier after a one-on-one fist fight between Mr Richardson and his friend.
Read more:
- Teenage killer jailed for life after murdering Bishop Auckland dad Craig Yorke
- Family of dad speak of devastation as teen found guilty of his murder
- Face of teenage killer Jack Lawson who murdered dad-of-two Craig Yorke
He said he accepted that although the knife was taken to the scene of the murder in Eldon Lane there was no premeditated intention to kill.
The judge added: "You got out of your car with a knife in your hand to scare them off, one ran away but another Craig Yorke walked towards to you and tried to strike you with a stick - you stabbed him three times.”
Lawson was sentenced to life at His Majesty’s pleasure with a minimum tariff of 18 years before he can apply for parole.
His four co-accused - Connor Vint and Harry Brown, both 19, 20-year-old Marley Roles, and a teenager who cannot be named as he is under 18 – were all cleared of murder and manslaughter.
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