A father who was killed by a single punch while attempting to intervene in a pub brawl married his childhood sweetheart as he lay in a coma in his hospital bed. Nottingham Crown Court heard how Harley and Jordan Fox exchanged vows in a blessing at the Queen's Medical Centre the day after he had been fatally attacked by Dilon Price.
The Attack and Aftermath
In a deeply moving impact statement, Mrs Fox displayed tremendous courage as she addressed a packed courtroom, describing how "what should have been the happiest day of my life turned into a final goodbye." After her husband's killer — a former boxer — had struck Mr Fox, he shouted "that's what you get for messing with a Traveller boy" before leaving the 34-year-old father-of-one for dead. Sentencing 30-year-old Price to five years and 11 months, Judge Robert Egbuna said: "Because of your actions you have caused untold misery on Harley Fox's family, friends and his childhood sweetheart, Jordan."
Court Proceedings
Sarah Knight, prosecuting, said the killing occurred outside the Market Inn, in Main Street, Huthwaite, shortly after 9pm on Sunday, June 8, last year. She told the court that a couple named John and Summer Francis had been out that evening celebrating a wedding anniversary and birthday with a group. The prosecutor said Price arrived in a van and within a short period an altercation broke out between him and Mr Francis. Ms Knight said: "There was a tussle by the pool table, it was a dynamic event over the course of maybe a couple of minutes. John Francis goes out into the beer garden and is seen pacing around on his own in a corner near the fence punching and lashing out at the fence in frustration."
"(Price) leaves the bar area and goes over to where John Francis is. He was described as 'aggressive and looking for a fight'. John Francis put his hand out to shake hands but the defendant attacked him." He was pushed by the defendant and then subjected to an assault by him, putting his hand up to his neck, pushing him towards the wall and headbutting him. Others tried to intervene and among them was Harley Fox. "Harley Fox was trying to act as a peacemaker throughout the entirety of that short incident at the pub. At no stage did he do anything wrong. He stood in front of Dilon Price and told him that was enough but the defendant continued to be aggressive and argumentative and pushed Harley Fox causing him to stumble."
He also punched him which caused him to fall backwards with force and banging his head into a picnic table and bench before the back of his head hit the concrete. One witness described Harley Fox as 'going down like timber'. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went into cardiac arrest. "The defendant was brought back into the pub by another male and appeared agitated and worked up before getting into his van. He was heard to call out the words 'that's what you get for messing with a Traveller boy' before driving off at speed."
Victim Impact Statements
Mr Fox's mother, widow and sister each courageously delivered their own victim impact statements to the court. In hers, his mother Donna Thompson said: "He was clever, funny, kind and had the biggest heart. My beautiful strong boy has gone, his death has shattered the whole family." In her statement, his widow Jordan said: "We were childhood sweethearts and from the moment I met him I knew he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We married at his hospital bedside and what should have been the happiest day of my life turned into a final goodbye."
"I live with guilt and regret every day for going out that night." In her statement, sister Jade Fox said: "I will never get over the death of my little brother. He could light up any room, a rare human being who was kind and would give his time to anyone. He was my rock and my protector."
Sentencing and Mitigation
Price, of Back Lane, Sutton-in-Ashfield and who has children aged one and two, had previously entered a guilty plea to manslaughter as well as assault occasioning actual bodily harm - in relation to Mr Francis - at an earlier hearing. He has two previous convictions for four offences but nothing for violence. Mary Prior KC, mitigating, described her client as a man "with limited intellect and limited education" having left school at the age of nine and is unable to read or write. She said: "He has worked as a roofer and a landscape gardener. Following what occurred inside the public house what Dilon Price should have done is to leave but he didn't."
"He did not run away; he was told to leave. This was not premeditated or planned. He said 'a split second has changed the lives of so many people and if I could go back I would'." In relation to him being an experienced boxer, he did box at the age of 16 or 17 but he has not trained for 12 years. Judge Egbuna concluded: "You took the life of a loved and cherished member of the community and you will carry that for the rest of your life. You have robbed the family of a life and left them with lifelong heartache and pain."
