On June 17th of last year, 21-year-old Benjamin Bibby and 29-year-old Andrew Wilcock were involved in an altercation with 42-year-old Lee Dawson at a house party in Preston, Lancashire. After being punched by Dawson, the two men left the party and returned wearing balaclavas and armed with knives. Police intervened before any violence could take place.
Eventually, the group located Dawson and his friend. CCTV footage shows Bibby and Wilcock launching an attack on the victim, who was attempting to defend himself by wrapping his shirt around his arm. 34-year-old Robert Cross and 39-year-old Kerry-Ann Metcalf joined the assault, and the group proceeded to stab Dawson several times. The assailants then left him for dead on the pavement, where his body was discovered at 4.05am.
Bibby and Wilcock were convicted of murder and received minimum life sentences of 24 years, while Cross was convicted of manslaughter and given 15 years in prison. Metcalf received 15 months after being found guilty of assisting an offender.
The tragedy has been devastating for Dawson’s family, who are still trying to come to terms with his loss. Detective chief inspector Mark Haworth-Oates said: “Bibby and Wilcock could have walked away from their argument with Mr Dawson at any time but instead they went to collect knives, put on face coverings and lay in wait from him to come past before attacking him.”
This horrific incident serves as a reminder of the destructive power of senseless violence and how quickly it can lead to tragedy.
