Man jailed for delivering fatal punch in south Warwickshire pub

A man who caused the death of another man after punching him outside an Alcester pub has been jailed for more than six years.

William ‘Billy’ Carney was picked up for work on the morning of November 24, 2022, and later went to the Blue Boar Inn Pub in Temple Grafton with Mark Stevens.

During the evening the two men went into the car park and Stevens was seen to punch Mr Carney to the head, which left him shaken and unstable on his feet.

A short time later Stevens took hold of Mr Carney with one hand before punching him with the other - causing Mr Carney to fall and hit his head on the concrete.

He was taken to hospital where he later died from a bleed to the brain.

When questioned in interview, Stevens provided a statement admitting assaulting the 31-year-old but denied intending to kill him.

He was subsequently charged with manslaughter and pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing in July.

Appearing at Warwick Crown Court on Friday September 22, he was sentenced to six years and five months in prison – to serve a minimum of more than four years.

Detective Chief Inspector Teresa McKenna said: “Billy’s death wasn’t the result of an unfortunate event, but because of a senseless act by Stevens with no real meaning or justification.

“He may have only thrown one punch which caused the fatal injuries, but the punch was swift, unprovoked, and without warning - leaving Billy defenceless and vulnerable.

"Stevens' actions have led to untold misery for Billy’s family and friends - he turned their lives upside down and what he did will have long-lasting, devastating consequences not just for them but for himself too.

“Billy left for work that day but tragically never returned to his family, their loss and grief is infinite.

“Although we can’t bring Billy back, I hope Stevens’ sentence gives them a small sense of closure knowing he’ll spend a significant amount of time behind bars reflecting on how his actions changed everything.

“I’d like to praise everyone involved in securing Stevens’ conviction for the hard work and the professionalism they have shown in extremely trying circumstances.

“Thankfully, incidents of this nature are rare, but I’d like to reassure the public that we’ll always prioritise bringing offenders to justice and do everything we can to protect our communities from harm.”