The sister of 'courageous' Nathaniel Bierley looked his 'out of control' one-punch killer Kyle Turton bravely in the eye and told him: "You didn’t just take Nathaniel’s life you took all of our lives." In an emotional statement read aloud in court, Mr Bierley's sister Louisa moved to explain to Turton just how much damage he had caused.
She told him: "You have taken the life of a young man that was so loved, loved life and was always so dedicated to making a change and standing up for others' rights. The pain and hurt you have caused to all of us. You have ruined every birthday and every Christmas because you didn’t just take Nathaniel’s life you took all of our lives when you took my brother's life.”
Turton, 21, was drunk when he floored Five Guys worker Mr Bierley, a complete stranger, with a single punch in Upper Parliament Street. A friend of Turton said the killer was looking to start something and that Turton's behaviour had changed completely and he had become "jumpy and aggressive" on the evening in question.
Nottingham Crown Court was told how Mr Bierley had kicked a bin but the same friend of Turton said the victim had not done or said anything to Turton when he moved in and hit him. The fall caused Mr Bierley's death. The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday, March 5.
Judge Stuart Rafferty QC said Turton was caught on CCTV footage "for all to see" practising a round house punch beforehand. Before the attack on Mr Bierley, Turton knocked chips out of the hand of another member of the public who was on his phone and minding his own business.
Detectives cordoned off a stretch of Upper Parliament Street at its junction with Trinity Walk following the subsequent attack on Mr Bierley, who was taken to hospital and died on March 17 - 12 days after the punch.
In her statement read in court, Louisa described Mr Bierley as the "best brother" who was "courageous and always wanted to make a change in this world". "Our brother always made such a big impression on all of those who knew him and made all of us proud every day," she said in an emotional tribute.
“He travelled the world and lived his life to the fullest and had so much more to give to this world but that’s been taken away from him. He was a great uncle and it would have been nice to see if Nathaniel had children of his own one day but now we will never know.
“He was going to take his younger sister to a car dealership when she passed her test and help her buy a car and, because of this, he won’t do that. She was looking forward to her big brother buying her first car and wanted to show her big brother her first ever home but he won’t be here to see all of this. We will never get to see how he would have lived the rest of his life and that hurts us so much.
“I have never seen my mum cry before but, in the days when it happened, and afterward, I did and it absolutely devastated me: hearing how she wished it was her instead – my heart absolutely broke. This has not only affected us all emotionally but has had a physical impact on most of us, too. I feel an apparent amount of stress all of the time so I have to make myself busy so I feel tired all of the time ever since the day it happened.”
The 26-year-old Mr Bierley had worked at the Five Guys restaurant, near the Showcase Cinema in Redfield Way. In the wake of the tragedy, the family of Mr Bierley said he had been celebrating the third anniversary with his girlfriend at the time of the attack.
Turton, of Brooksby Lane, Clifton, was give a nine-year jail term, with an extended period on licence for five years on his release. He was sentenced for manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court.
In a statement released after the sentencing by Mr Bierley’s family, they said: “As a family, we know that nothing can bring back Nathaniel, however we would like to thank the Judge for his comments today and the sentence that was passed. It is comforting for us to know that Kyle Turton will be spending longer than we anticipated in prison and that he will have a long time to think about what he has done before he can see his family again.”
Sentencing Turton, Judge Rafferty QC said: “By your completely unjustified and unnecessary actions you brought to the end a life of a young man who had done nothing to you. And who, on any view, did not deserve to die.
"You didn’t intend to kill him, that’s true, because you are charged with manslaughter, not murder, but that doesn’t diminish the impact of what you did to him and his family – who had the awful cruelty of spending day after day at hospital waiting to see if he would live, tragically he did not.
“There will come a time for you when you will go home and you will go back to normal life but, for them, that will never happen. You didn’t just change his life by bringing it to an end you destroyed him and destroyed their lives.
“You for a long time have been out of control. You didn’t need to interfere with an argument taking place if there was one between the deceased and his partner – you didn’t have to act in the way you did and get involved in something that had absolutely nothing to do with you. Nathaniel had not said or done anything to you but you moved in and hit him and hit him so hard that he was unconscious before he hit the ground. If you are not ashamed you really should be.”
Turton admitted the killing at a court hearing earlier this year. Detective Constable Rebecca Butler, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I firstly want to thank Nathaniel’s family for their support and cooperation during the investigation and the strength and dignity they have shown throughout the court proceedings. Our deepest sympathies and thoughts remain with Nathaniel’s family, friends and everyone who knew him, their loss is heart-breaking and as a force we will continue to offer our support.
“This incident shows how throwing even single punch can have devastating consequences as shown in this case that one moment of aggression can result in a lifetime of consequences, regret and guilt. This one moment of aggression will now see Turton behind bars for nearly a decade and still under supervision when he does leave prison for another five years.
“I hope this case shows that we will never tolerate violent offences of this nature and will treat each and every one extremely seriously and do everything we can to bring those responsible in front of the courts.”
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