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Tuesday, 6 November 2007, 17:00 GMT

Men guilty of McDonald's killing

The Stonehouses caught on CCTV A father and son have been convicted of killing a 21-year-old man in a McDonald's restaurant.

Richard Moore died after suffering a blow to the neck in the restaurant in Hay Hill, Norwich, on 21 March.

Gerard Stonehouse, 48, and his son Jonathan Stonehouse, 18, had both denied manslaughter during a trial at Norwich Crown Court.

The pair, of Woodcock Road, Norwich, were convicted by jurors following three hours of deliberations.

They have both been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a date to be fixed later this month.

Pregnant girlfriend

The confrontation began when Mr Moore defended his pregnant girlfriend, Jemma Todd, who had accused Jonathan Stonehouse of staring at her.

John Farmer, prosecuting, told jurors how the defendants continued to beat Mr Moore as he lay "lifeless and dying".

"They went on beating a person who was already dead," Mr Farmer said.

Mr Moore, who was 5ft 8in and weighed eight stone, suffered 20 separate injuries in the attack.

One blow caused a tear in an underlying artery in the right-hand side of Mr Moore's neck and he died from internal bleeding.

Richard Moore

He was officially pronounced dead at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on 22 March.

When questioned by police the Stonehouses made no comment before issuing statements in which they claimed they had acted in self-defence.

Outside court Det Sgt Nigel Gillick, of Norfolk Police, said: "This incident was an extremely violent one and local people will have been shocked that it could take place in the middle of the afternoon in Norwich city centre.

"Today's result is a message to all those people who believe that violence is a way to settle a dispute.

"Richard's death has been a complete tragedy for his family and friends. He was a young man, due to have been a first-time father, who has been robbed of his life."




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Related to this story:
McDonald's death case summed up (05 Nov 07 |  Norfolk )
Man saw fatal attack, court told (24 Oct 07 |  Norfolk )
Lifeless body beaten, court hears (22 Oct 07 |  Norfolk )

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