A man has pleaded guilty to murder on the seventh day of his trial at Preston Crown Court.
Leigh Smith (39) Binyon Court, Lancaster, was jailed for life for killing 49-year-old Keith Thompson in Heysham (pictured below with his dog).
Smith (main picture) originally denied murder and an earlier assault causing actual bodily harm on another victim.
Mr Justice Bright told Smith he would have to serve a minimum of 22 years and 177 days before he is considered for parole. He was also sentenced to 36 weeks for a separate assault, to run concurrently.
Police were called to reports of an assault off Heysham Road, near to the Bay Medical Centre, Heysham in the early hours of September 28, 2024.
Emergency services attended the scene and Mr Thompson was taken to hospital, where he died.
A postmortem examination later established the cause of Keith’s death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Smith had violently assaulted Keith by kicking, hitting, and punching him repeatedly.
When the first officer arrived that morning, he found Keith slumped against the basement wall. He did not appear to be breathing.
The police and ambulance crew continued to try to save Keith, as did the hospital staff, but he was sadly pronounced dead at 5.55am that morning.
Smith was arrested and later charged with Keith’s murder.
Keith’s mum, Nancy said: “When I first found out what happened to Keith I didn’t want to live anymore, just so I could be with him. As I got older he always said to me that he couldn’t live without me, but here I am now having to live without him. I am devastated and utterly heartbroken. That man has taken away such a loving Son.”
Keith’s Daughter Alisha said: “I just can’t stop thinking of my Dad suffering at the hands of that monster who killed him. My future children now won’t have a Grandad. He murdered my Dad with his hands and feet and this will stay with me for the rest of my life. Rest easy Dad, I love you and I miss you.”
DCI John McNamara said: “My thoughts today are with Keith’s devastated family and friends at this incredibly upsetting time. When Smith attacked Keith on the morning of his death, he did so with prolonged and extreme violence.
“Smith assaulted another victim prior to Keith which was both random and unprovoked. His behaviour continued to escalate culminating in the vicious attack on Keith.
“While no sentence can ever make up for the taking of a life, I do hope Keith’s family can gain some degree of closure and I hope they feel some relief knowing that Smith will be in prison for a considerable length of his life. He will then have to convince the Parole Board that he poses no risk to the public before he is ever released.”
