Paul McCauley: Derry man pleads guilty to manslaughter

A 31-year-old man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Paul McCauley in Londonderry.

Mr McCauley died nine years after he was attacked at a barbecue in the city in 2006.

Matthew Brian Gillen, from Bonds Street in Derry, also pleaded guilty to assaulting two of Mr McCauley's friends.

He was led away in handcuffs for sentencing at a later date.

When a murder charge was put to Gillen he said: "Not guilty to murder, but guilty to manslaughter."

He then pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to one of Mr McCauley's friends and causing a second friend actual bodily harm.

The public prosecution service (PPS) accepted Mr Gillen's pleas.

Father-of-one Mr McCauley suffered serious head injuries and never regained consciousness after what police said was a sectarian attack at the barbecue in the Waterside.

He died in a care facility in June 2015.

Piper John McClements, who was previously known as Daryl Proctor, was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering Mr McCauley.

The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports until next month, when a tariff hearing on the life sentence faced by McClements will also be heard.

The case was heard before Londonderry Crown Court, sitting in Belfast.

McClements' case is one of the first of its kind in Northern Ireland because he has already served a jail term under his former name of Daryl Proctor.

That was in relation to the original attack on Mr McCauley which left him in a vegetative state.

Mr Justice Colton said he wanted to take time to consider legal submissions in the case before passing sentence, which would be after the mid-term break.