Man jailed after killing ‘timid’ man with one punch over karaoke slight
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A man has been jailed for life after he killed a “timid, fun-loving man” with a single punch from behind outside a pub in Swansea. Christopher Cooper, 39, punched Kelvin Evans once to the head outside The Station Hotel, Gorseinon on May 26 last year after feeling “slighted” over his partner’s karaoke singing.
Mr Evans was immediately knocked unconscious and was taken to hospital, where he died a month later. After the incident, Cooper boasted about the attack, branding his fists his “bad boys”. Cooper, from the Maritime Quarter, Swansea, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years for murder at Swansea Crown Court on Friday.
Cooper’s partner, 54-year-old Catherine Tracy Francis, from Llanelli, was also found guilty of assisting an offender and sentenced to two years in jail. Following the sentencing, Cooper shouted at Judge Geraint Walters as he was escorted from the courtroom.
He said: “Go f*** yourself – how’s that. You’re a dickhead.”. The court heard that Mr Evans, 64, had been drinking at the Station Hotel, known locally as “The Gyp” in May last year. Cooper, who was drinking there with Francis, followed Mr Evans as he left to meet his partner at another pub when he punched him once in the head from behind.
The judge said Cooper appeared to have felt “slighted” after Mr Evans and his partner had shared a look while Francis was singing karaoke. Francis was aware of the assault but did not call the police and analysis of her phone showed that she had searched for hotels immediately after the attack and the pair had packed a car to leave the area.
