22-year-old found guilty of killing stranger with one punch

Jake Parkinson, 22, was convicted of the manslaughter of Jack Jermy-Doyle from Preston following a trial at Preston Crown Court, which concluded today (Friday, March 15).

Jak Fairclough, 29, had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter at an earlier hearing.

The trial heard that the pair were out in Preston with a group on the evening of August 11 2022, with evidence showing that throughout the night they had been involved in aggressive behaviour and had been seen in and out of bars making a nuisance of themselves and fighting.

Mr Jermy-Doyle was out with a friend the same night, and after starting the night in Chorley they headed into Preston city centre.

Around 2.30am on August 12, Mr Jermy-Doyle and his friend were near the flag market with Mr Jermy-Doyle ahead of his friend, and as his friend sat on a bench, he walked on.

He was then approached by Parkinson and Fairclough, with Parkinson delivering a blow to Mr Jermy-Doyle’s stomach.

Almost immediately after that, Fairclough punched him in the face.

The blow to his face resulted in Mr Jermy-Doyle falling to the ground where he banged his head and was knocked unconscious.

Fairclough and Parkinson did nothing to assist Mr Jermy-Doyle, and ran from the scene leaving Mr Jermy-Doyle’s friend to seek help and call the ambulance.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services and staff at Royal Preston Hospital, Mr Jermy-Doyle suffered a serious head injury and died on August 14 without regaining consciousness.

A postmortem confirmed that Mr Jermy-Doyle died from a blunt force injury to the back of his head, consistent with his head hitting the ground.

A subsequent police investigation uncovered a pattern of behaviour by Parkinson and Fairclough throughout the night and early hours of the morning that culminated in the death of Mr Jermy-Doyle.

Although Fairclough phoned the police to hand himself in, he had taken steps to destroy evidence.

Both he and Parkinson were subsequently arrested.

Fairclough admitted that he had punched Mr Jermy-Doyle and that he had disposed of the clothing he was wearing that night in a neighbour’s bin, which had since been emptied.

Parkinson admitted in interview that he had given Mr Jermy-Doyle what he called a “little dig in his belly” but claimed that Mr Jermy-Doyle was the aggressor.

Fairclough pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August 2023.

Parkinson pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and was convicted after trial on March 15, after the jury decided the actions of Parkinson and Fairclough led to the death of the 25-year-old.

The pair will be sentenced at a later date.

Det Insp Bryony Midgley, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “My thoughts first and foremost are with Jack’s family and loved ones. They have lost a kind and caring young man, who they loved dearly, through the senseless and violent actions of Parkinson and Fairclough on that night.

“I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration of the facts in what was an emotive case. I would also like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service and prosecution counsel for their presentation of the case.

“I would like to further thank all the officers and staff who worked tirelessly on this case to secure charges and now successful convictions. I hope that today’s result gives Jack’s family some sense that justice has been served.”

Katie Marsden, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said:” This was a senseless act of violence by Parkinson and Fairclough that had fatal consequences for Mr Jermy-Doyle.

“Their actions in approaching him, assaulting him and leaving him for dead were despicable.

“Far from being remorseful, Fairclough could be heard shortly after fleeing the scene shouting: “who wants it” and “who’s next.”

“This case is a further reminder that one punch can kill.

“My thoughts are very much with the family and friends of Mr Jermy-Doyle who bear his loss.”

READ MORE: Burnley woman's fundraiser for boyfriend who died in one-punch attack

In May 2023, Mr Jermy-Doyle's girlfriend, Kaitlyn Booth, from Burnley, set up a Go Fund Me page as she prepared to take on a Tough Mudder on the anniversary of the senseless assault.

She said: “My beautiful Jack was punched and his whole life was taken from him. All it took was ONE punch.

“Jack had so much more to offer this world, but everything was cruelly taken away from him. The love of my life was gone in the blink of an eye.

“On the 12th of August 2023, I will be doing Tough Mudder in memory of Jack, something that we wanted to do together but sadly never can."

To date, the fundraiser has amassed almost £6,000.