Latest news with #GregoryTwigg
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Stoke-on-Trent man found guilty of Army veteran's punch murder
A man has been found guilty of murdering an Iraq War veteran, who died after being punched three Twigg, 32, was convicted by a jury at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday and will be sentenced on 19 confronted Lee Woodward, 39, in Stoke-on-Trent on 24 June 2022 and left the retired Army veteran with brain damage, from which he did not Woodward died in April 2023, Stafford Crown Court heard. Twigg, previously of Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed in September 2022, when he admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent, before Mr Woodward's death led to the murder trial. During his evidence, Twigg said he was a passenger in a Vauxhall Astra being driven by a friend, Nathan Lockley, and was heading for a night out in Newcastle-under-Lyme when they encountered Mr Woodward, who had walked past their car in Hill Woodward had shouted a profanity at them and commented on Mr Lockley's driving, saying he would "knock us all out", Twigg told the led Mr Lockley to park in a nearby street before a confrontation took was caught on camera throwing what prosecution counsel David Mason described as "powerful and cowardly" punches at Mr Woodward, who was in "no position to defend himself" after the first punch knocked him to the ground. "This is an extremely tragic case that has caused immeasurable pain and loss to Lee's family," said Det Sgt Garry Jackson, of Staffordshire Police."They have had to go through this ordeal in court on two separate occasions and I'm glad that we were able to secure this conviction for them after so much heartache." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Man who punched Iraq War veteran three times found guilty of his murder
A man who punched an Iraq War veteran three times in a street attack which led to his death 10 months later, has been found guilty of his murder. Gregory Twigg, 32, landed three 'powerful and cowardly' punches on medically-retired British Army veteran Lee Woodward, in an attack in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, on the night of June 24 2022, leaving him severely brain damaged, until he died on April 26 2023. Twigg, who is already serving an eight-year and three-month prison sentence, after pleading guilty in September 2022 to grievous bodily harm with intent for the attack on Mr Woodward, has now been found guilty of his murder. Mr Woodward's family cried and whispered 'yes' as a jury of seven women and five men returned their verdict on Thursday, after two hours and 57 minutes of deliberations, at the end of a trial at Stafford Crown Court. The trial was told Mr Woodward had been on a night out with his fiancee Kate Griffin, and had left The Liquor Vaults pub in Trade Street minutes before her, when he became involved in a confrontation with the occupants of a Vauxhall Astra that had been driving past him. Twigg, who admitted he had taken cocaine and had drunk vodka and sambuca, told the trial he had become angry after Mr Woodward had allegedly sworn at and threatened him and his friends as they were driving past him on their way to a night out. The driver, Nathan Lockley, pulled the car over and a confrontation ensued, with Twigg getting out of the back seat of the vehicle and attacking Mr Woodward three times. Prosecution counsel David Mason KC said Twigg was 'fired up on drink and coke and raging' when he attacked Mr Woodward, who he said posed no threat to the defendant, after the first punch left him looking 'like a highly dazed boxer'. CCTV from a nearby pub showed Twigg knocking Mr Woodward, who was over six feet tall, to the ground, before a second punch knocked him into a parked car. The third punch left him unconscious in the road and Twigg fled the scene with his friends. He was arrested less than an hour later in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The trial was told Mr Woodward suffered a severe brain injury and would have required full-time care in a nursing home for the rest of his life, but he died after contracting peritonitis and pneumonia in hospital. Twigg had told the jury he never intended to cause Mr Woodward serious harm and had only wanted to give him a black eye so that he would leave him and his friends alone. He said he punched him twice more because he feared Mr Woodward was going to hit him back, and he was 'devastated' that his actions had resulted in his death. In a statement, Ms Griffin had said her partner of 10 years, who had been medically retired from the British Army after suffering a back injury while on a tour of Iraq, relied on strong medication and would never have started a fight because of his back pain. Mr Mason told the court Twigg's punches were 'powerful and cowardly' and that he had intended to 'flatten Lee so he would never get up'. He said Twigg was trying to 'wriggle out' of a murder conviction by attempting to convince the jury he only wanted to give him a black eye, because he knew that by pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent in 2022, that it made him guilty of murder. Judge Roger Thomas KC thanked the jury for their hard work and told Twigg, who appeared to show no emotion in the dock, that he would be facing life imprisonment, but the minimum term would be decided when he is sentenced on September 19.
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Jury retires in trial of man accused of murdering Iraq War veteran
The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering an Iraq War veteran by punching him in a street attack have retired to consider their verdict. Gregory Twigg, 32, denies intending to cause Lee Woodward, 39, serious injuries when he punched him three times in Trade Street, Stoke-on-Trent, on the night of June 24 2022. Medically-retired British Army veteran Mr Woodward was left brain damaged in the attack and never recovered from his injuries, dying in hospital from complications 10 months later on April 26 2023. The defendant, who was jailed for eight years and three months in September 2022 after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent for the attack on Mr Woodward, is now on trial at Stafford Crown Court accused of his murder. Twigg, previously of Blurton in Stoke-on-Trent, gave evidence on Wednesday and denied claims from prosecution counsel David Mason KC that he was 'fired up on drink and coke and raging' when he punched Mr Woodward, saying he only intended to give him a black eye. He told the jury of seven women and five men that Mr Woodward had sworn at and threatened them as the car he was a passenger in drove past him in Hill Street so his friend Nathan Lockley pulled the car over and a confrontation ensued. CCTV of the lead-up and the attack itself was played to the jury, showing Mr Woodward leaving The Liquor Vaults pub in Trade Street at around 11pm before his fiance and walking down towards Hill Street with a man who has not been identified, where he first encountered the car in which Twigg was a backseat passenger. The first punch by Twigg knocked Mr Woodward to the ground, with Ms Griffin helping her partner to his feet before the second knocked him into a parked car and the third left him unconscious in the road and he never recovered. Mr Mason told the court Twigg's punches were 'powerful and cowardly' and that he had intended to 'flatten Lee so he would never get up'. After getting back into the vehicle and leaving the scene, Twigg was arrested in Newcastle-upon-Lyme, where he had been heading for a night out, around 50 minutes later. In his closing speech to jury before they retired, Mr Mason said: 'At any stage, does Lee Woodward look like a threat to anyone? 'This man was determined to flatten Lee so he would never get up. He may have been drunk, he was on cocaine, that may have made him more aggressive. He accepted he was a bit angry – but he was raging wasn't he?' He added: 'He was determined in his agitated, angry, bouncy state, to really hurt Lee Woodward. 'You saw how angry Mr Twigg was and he wasn't going to stop until he was done, was he? 'Even after he had rendered Lee Woodward unconscious for the remainder of his life, he punches Kate Griffin. He said it was a push, not a punch – you decide, ladies and gentlemen. 'He was raging, we suggest he was unstoppable. Of course, now Lee has died, he is trying to wriggle out of a murder charge. He knows his guilty plea to grievous bodily harm with intent makes him guilty of murder. 'Now he is trying to persuade you he only meant to give him a black eye. 'He may feel bad about it now, but I suggest perhaps the person he is feeling most sorry for is himself because he knows he is guilty of murder.' Ahmed Hossain KC, defending Twigg, urged the jury to put their emotions aside and look at the evidence in a 'clinical' way. He said: 'It would be surprising if you didn't feel emotions such as anger and revulsion. We ask you to put emotions to the side, which is not easy, but experience shows that when you are deciding the facts, emotions don't help. 'I am not asking you to like Gregory Twigg and I'm certainly not asking you for any sympathy towards Gregory Twigg in his current predicament. 'Ask yourself in a really clinical way if Gregory Twigg intended to cause really serious harm. Mr Twigg is guilty of manslaughter. 'He accepts he unlawfully punched Mr Woodward, he accepts that his punches caused Mr Woodward to fall over, banging his head, and subsequently he very sadly died. 'The issue is intention.'
The Independent
7 days ago
- The Independent
Man accused of murdering Iraq War veteran ‘just wanted to give him a black eye'
A man accused of murdering an Iraq War veteran he punched three times has denied he intended to cause him serious harm, telling a jury he 'just wanted to give him a black eye'. Gregory Twigg, 32, disagreed that he was 'fired up on drink and coke and raging' when he confronted medically-retired British Army veteran Lee Woodward, 39, in Stoke-on-Trent on the night of June 24 2022, leaving him brain damaged. The defendant, who was jailed for eight years and three months in September 2022 after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent for the attack on Mr Woodward, is now on trial accused of murder after the victim died from complications arising from his injuries on April 26 2023. Giving evidence in his trial at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday, Twigg, previously of Blurton in Stoke-on-Trent, said he was a passenger in a Vauxhall Astra being driven by his friend Nathan Lockley and was heading for a night out in Newcastle-under-Lyme when they encountered Mr Woodward, who was walking by their car in Hill Street. He said Mr Woodward had shouted at them that they were a 'bunch of p*****' and commented on their driving, saying he would 'knock us all out', which led to Mr Lockley pulling the car over in nearby Trade Street before a confrontation followed. Twigg, who was caught on camera throwing what prosecution counsel David Mason KC called 'powerful and cowardly' punches at Mr Woodward, who was in 'no position to defend himself' after the first punch knocked him to the ground, said he did not intend to seriously hurt him. He admitted he was 'tipsy' at the time, having drunk vodka and Sambuca and taken cocaine. Asked by his barrister, Ahmed Hossain KC, how he felt that his punches caused Mr Woodward's death, Twigg said: 'Devastated… it wasn't what I intended to cause, it wasn't what I wanted to happen.' He admitted he had been 'quite angry' after Mr Woodward's comments, telling the jury: 'I just punched him, I wasn't thinking of causing him serious injuries, just a black eye or marks or injuries to the face. 'I wasn't thinking of kicking him in the head because I knew that would cause him serious harm on the floor. 'I wasn't trying to find a weapon, I wasn't going to pick anything up to hit him with because that would cause him serious harm.' In cross-examination, Twigg said he feared after the first punch that Mr Woodward was going to try and attack him. Mr Mason said: 'That's just a lie isn't it? You were fired up on drink and coke and raging – that's you in a nutshell that night, isn't it?' Twigg said: 'No. I can't say I was trying to punch Mr Woodward really hard.' He added: 'I thought he was a threat because of how big he was, he looked like he could do some damage to me.' Mr Mason asked Twigg why he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent in 2022 if all he intended was to give Mr Woodward a black eye. He said: 'I thought I was doing the right thing.' 'That's nonsense, isn't it? You pleaded guilty because that was your intention that night, wasn't it?' Mr Mason said. 'You are now trying to wriggle out of that plea because you know perfectly well that makes you guilty of murder, don't you?' Twigg said: 'I know that now, yeah. I never wanted to cause serious harm to him.' The trial continues.
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
Newcastle-under-Lyme murder-accused 'only meant to hurt Iraq vet'
A man accused of murdering an Iraq War veteran who died after he punched him three times said he did not intend to cause him serious Twigg, 32, told a jury he "just wanted to give him a black eye" and was not "fired up on drink and coke and raging" when he confronted Lee Woodward, attack, in Stoke-on-Trent on 24 June 2022, left retired British Army veteran Mr Woodward with brain damage, from which he did not recover and died in April 2023, Stafford Crown Court Twigg, previously of Blurton, was jailed in September 2022, when he admitted grievous bodily harm with intent, the defendant is now being tried accused of Mr Woodward's murder. Giving evidence, Twigg said he was a passenger in a Vauxhall Astra being driven by friend Nathan Lockley and was heading for a night out in Newcastle-under-Lyme when they encountered Mr Woodward, who had walked past their car in Hill Woodward had shouted a profanity at them and commented on Mr Lockley's driving, saying he would "knock us all out," Twigg told the led Mr Lockley to park in a nearby street before a confrontation took was caught on camera throwing what prosecution counsel David Mason described as "powerful and cowardly" punches at Mr Woodward, who was in "no position to defend himself" after the first punch knocked him to the ground. 'I was quite angry' Twigg admitted he was "tipsy" at the time, having drunk vodka and sambuca and taken said he felt "devastated" his punches caused Mr Woodward's death."It wasn't what I intended to cause, it wasn't what I wanted to happen," he admitted he had been "quite angry" after Mr Woodward's comments, telling the jury: "I just punched him, I wasn't thinking of causing him serious injuries, just a black eye or marks or injuries to the face."I wasn't thinking of kicking him in the head because I knew that would cause him serious harm on the floor."In cross-examination, Twigg said he feared after the first punch that Mr Woodward was going to try to was asked why he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent in 2022 if all he intended was to give Mr Woodward a black eye, to which he replied: "I thought I was doing the right thing."The trial continues. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
