By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-05 20:47:43 | Updated at 2025-01-07 10:50:19
1 day ago
A man has been jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years for killing a "timid" victim with a single punch outside a Swansea pub during a karaoke night.
Christopher Cooper, 39, from Maritime Quarter, Swansea, attacked Kelvin Evans outside The Station Hotel in Gorseinon last May, believing Evans had insulted his girlfriend's singing.
Evans was knocked unconscious in the assault and died a month later.
Cooper's partner, Catherine Tracy Francis, 54, was also sentenced to two years in prison for assisting an offender following the incident.
Undated handout grab from CCTV issued by South Wales Police of Christopher Cooper, punching Kelvin Evans. Christopher from the Maritime Quarter, Swansea, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years for murder of Kelvin Evans at Swansea Crown Court
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Christopher Cooper, 39, from Maritime Quarter, Swansea
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Catherine Tracy Francis, 54
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Francis was aware of the assault but failed to contact police, instead searching for hotels immediately after the attack.
The couple packed their car and attempted to leave the area following the incident.
They were arrested the next day by police at a service station in South Cornelly.
During the trial, Francis pleaded not guilty to assisting an offender but was convicted by the jury.
Kelvin Evans
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Judge Geraint Walters described Kelvin Evans as "a much-loved member of the Evans family and the wider community" and "a timid, fun-loving family man admired by all".
The judge condemned Cooper's actions as motivated by a perceived slight during the karaoke performance.
"It festered in your mind from that moment onwards and that was enough to trigger an attempt to cause really serious bodily harm – as an act effectively of revenge," Judge Walters said.
Cooper reacted angrily to his sentencing, shouting at the judge: "Go f*** yourself – how's that. You're a dickhead" as he was escorted from the courtroom.
In an emotional victim impact statement, Evans' 92-year-old mother Maureen Evans stood in the dock facing her son's killers.
"You never as a mother expect your children to go before you," she said. "Kelvin was so helpful and one of the best sons you could wish for."
Janet Cross, Evans' ex-partner, described him as "the love of my life" and spoke of suffering nightmares after the attack.
"The murder of Kelvin has left me with horrendous nightmares, sleepless nights and days and nights filled with inconsolable grief," she said, adding that Cooper "not only killed Kelvin, but he killed a part of me too".
