Man killed by Christmas Eve pub push, court hears
Family handoutA reveller died when he hit his head after being pushed over in a pub beer garden on Christmas Eve, a jury has heard.
Steven Shevels, 61, was immediately knocked unconscious by the fall behind The Queen's Head in Willington, County Durham, on 24 December, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Martin Greensmith, 37 and from Willington, denies manslaughter, with jurors having heard he had allegedly just been told the victim was his father shortly before the fatal altercation.
Jurors saw CCTV footage of Greensmith shoving Shevels over and then pub goers trying to resuscitate the victim, with the accused also trying to shake him awake.
The court heard Shevels had been drinking in his hometown of Crook before going to the pub that afternoon.
The barman said he saw Shevels, who he had known for 20 years, go into the lounge where Greensmith and his family were sitting.
In a statement read to jurors, the man said there seemed to be an "awkward atmosphere" as Shevels spoke to Greensmith's uncle, and the body language showed the conversation was "not really too pleasant" and he was getting on the family's nerves.
He said he went over and asked Shevels to finish his pint and leave, to which the victim replied "no bother" and did.
The barman said he also spoke to Greensmith's mother earlier that afternoon who "gave a look" at Shevels as the victim sat at the bar, before telling the pub worker Shevels was her son's father and she had just told Greensmith.
"I was absolutely shocked at the news," the man said.
While Greensmith's barrister told the court he would have challenged several parts of the barman's testimony, the allegation about the victim being the accused's father was not one of the points raised.
'Accused was crying'
At about 16:40 GMT, Shevels was standing in the beer garden, where a witness reported him slurring his speech and swaying on his feet, when Greensmith walked over and, after a short conversation in which someone reportedly said the word "dad", pushed him, the court heard.
Jurors saw CCTV of Shevels falling backwards and hitting his head on the ground, which another man in the garden said sounded like "dropping a coconut on concrete".
As one man went to Shevels' aid, Greensmith went inside to get a glass of water to pour on his face and try and revive him, the court heard.
When that failed to wake the victim, Greensmith started shaking him, the court heard.
More people, including Greensmith's mother, came out of the pub to try and resuscitate the victim pending the arrival of paramedics, the court heard.
The barman said he asked Greensmith what had happened, but the accused was just crying, the jury heard.
Emergency services tried to revive Shevels for more than an hour before pronouncing him dead at the scene, the court heard.
'Very rare thing'
Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton concluded Shevels died from a blunt head injury, although it was not a simple diagnosis as there was no catastrophic brain damage.
She said she believed he got an instant concussion which knocked him immediately unconscious, causing him to stop breathing and go into cardiac arrest.
Bolton said it was a "very rare thing" as "most commonly" people would "get up and not die" as a result of a concussion, but when a person was at least "moderately intoxicated", both their breathing and heart could be stopped by a sudden blow to the head.
The court heard Shevels was found to be just over three times the drink drive limit, which Bolton said was "more than moderately intoxicated".
She said the post-mortem examination revealed Shevels had "the severity of heart disease that could account for somebody having a sudden unexpected collapse and death".
But it would have been "too much coincidence" for him to have a heart attack just at the same time he was pushed, Bolton said, adding the "reasonable explanation" was the "strike to the head" causing the chain of medical events which "ultimately resulted in his death".
The trial continues.
