Man is guilty of staircase murder

Police said careful forensic work undermined Lloyd's defence

A Leicester man has been told he will serve at least 15 years in prison after being found guilty of murder.

Scott Cruden, 35, was found badly beaten at the bottom of stairs at a house on Beaumont Leys Lane in February. He died later in hospital.

At Nottingham Crown Court, 33-year-old Kevin Lloyd, from Brookdale Road in Braunstone, was given a life sentence.

Lloyd claimed Mr Cruden had fallen down the stairs but his injuries, including a fractured skull, were too severe.

Samantha Welland, 25, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and will be sentenced in December.

Multiple injuries

The jury, who deliberated for four hours, found Lloyd's co-accused Sven Welland, aged 26, of Torridan Close, Beaumont Leys, not guilty of murder.

Det Ch Insp Phil Smith said: "Detailed forensic work coupled with the post-mortem results led us to believe that Scott had been repeatedly punched and kicked.

"In particular, examination of a bruise on Scott's face showed that someone had stamped on his head.

"In total Scott suffered 45 visible injuries most of which were centred around his head. He had sustained a fractured skull and broken cheek bone as well as internal bleeding."