A man and woman who were convicted of the manslaughter of a Weymouth man have been jailed.
Hannah Jayne Rebecca Day, aged 29 and of Woodthorpe Road, Ashford in Surrey, and Aaron Kirk Brown, aged 39 and of Lennox Street in Weymouth, were sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Friday 9 October 2020 after being found guilty of manslaughter and attempted robbery following a trial at the same court.
Day was sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison and Brown received a sentence of 13 years and six months in jail.
The charges relate to the death of 75-year-old John Cornish, who died at his home on The Esplanade on Friday 6 September 2020.
Day and Brown had attempted to get money from Mr Cornish to buy drugs and while at his address on the evening of Friday 6 September and an altercation occurred during which the victim sustained a number of injuries, including a fracture to his neck.
A post-mortem examination indicated that while the neck compression injuries sustained during the attack could have directly caused Mr Cornish’s death, it was equally possible that he had suffered a cardiac episode as a result of stress brought about by the assault and died.
With Mr Cornish dead at the address, the defendants went out together in Weymouth before returning to spend part of the night in the property. Brown left the following morning before Day raised the alarm with a member of the public outside, claiming she had just arrived and found him dead.
Enquiries by officers were able to prove that Brown and Day had been present at the address at time of the assault and when the pair were arrested and interviewed they both admitted being there during the assault, but tried to implicate each other as the person responsible.
Day also pleaded guilty to theft and five counts of fraud by false representation relating to the theft of money from Mr Cornish in May 2019 and the use of his bank card.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Dixey, of Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of Mr Cornish and I hope the conclusion of this court process at least offers them some comfort as they attempt to move on with their lives.
“It is clear that, whoever was the principle aggressor, Day and Brown were both present at the address when Mr Cornish was subjected to an assault and sadly as result of a combination of this attack and an associated medical episode his family has lost their loved one.
“I would like to thank everyone who supported the investigation and the witnesses who provided evidence in court to help secure the conviction of these defendants for this horrible crime.”
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