Man jailed over single punch death

A barber who killed a father with a single punch as his fiancee and young daughter looked on has been jailed for five years.

Marcus Hutton suffered a fatal blow in the head after he was hit by Delroy Hines following a fracas outside an off licence in Priory Road, Dudley.

Mr Hutton, of Priory Road, died in Russells Hall Hospital after being placed on a life support machine following the July 9 attack.

Father-of-four Hines, aged 36, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 30-year-old Mr Hutton and was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday. The court heard that Mr Hutton had been returning from a shopping trip with his fiancee Danielle Parkes and their nine-year-old daughter when Hines pulled up in his car.

Mr Hugh O'Brien-Quinn, prosecuting, said: "The defendant got out of the car and something was said or done that caused Mr Hutton to turn around."

He said Mr Hutton had walked over to Hines and they were "face to face".

"As Mr Hutton walked towards the defendant, the defendant bent his knees slightly and threw an extremely forceful punch striking Mr Hutton in the face," he said. "This was the fatal blow," he added.

Hines pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis that the victim had approached him aggressively. He denied having earlier made a wolf whistle.

The court heard that Hines, of Redwood Avenue, Gornal, had 11 previous convictions involving violence.

Sentencing Hines, Judge John Warner told him: "No sentence I can pass will take away the grief from Marcus Hutton's family and friends. The loss of life is irreplaceable."

DI Simon Astle of West Midlands Police said: Marcus Hutton was 30 at the time of his death and his death was made even more tragic was that the attack was witnessed by his fiancee and young daughter."