Chip shop killing: man cleared

Oct 25 2007 by Lynda Roughley, Liverpool Daily Post

A MIDDLE-AGED Bootle man accused of killing another man after a chip shop row over a sausage has walked free from court.

Luke McCormick faced trial at Liverpool Crown Court but after five days evidence Judge Henry Globe, QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict.

He told the jury that no account of the independent witnesses was the same and there was insufficient evidence to convict him of manslaughter.

During the trial the court heard that the 28-year-old victim, Gary Jenner, had been drunk and abusive while in Tsang's takeaway in Stanley Road, Bootle, in the early hours of January 14.

An argument developed with Luke McCormick, who was ahead of him in the queue, and McCormick, of Pennington Avenue, agreed to buy him a sausage but Mr Jenner's behaviour continued.

Mr Jenner began trading insults with McCormick's partner, Margaret Kelly, and McCormick acted as a peacemaker. Mr Jenner threw a punch at Ms Kelly but it hit McCormick and he retaliated.

A scuffle developed which spilt out into the street. Mr Jenner knocked McCormick, a taxi driver, to the ground but he got up and the scuffle continued. McCormick managed to bring Mr Jenner to the ground and allegedly held him there until the police arrived about six minutes later.

It was claimed that during that time he used an arm or head lock which eventually caused Mr Jenner's death. A pathologist later found that he had suffered irreversible injuries by the time the police arrived.

McCormick allegedly told police at the scene that he had restrained him with an arm around his neck and had pushed his head down when he lifted it up. When later told that Mr Jenner had died McCormick cried and said, "All this over a sausage. I was trying to restrain him."

In interview, McCormick, who pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, said he had had his arm around his neck initially but for most of the time restrained him by pushing on the whole of his body.