On Saturday 5 March, victim Nathaniel Bierley was out with his friends when he was struck by Turton with such force that he was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground in Upper Parliament Street shortly after 3.30am.
The 26-year-old was rushed to the hospital but died on March 17th, 12 days after the incident.
Turton was quickly identified as the main suspect after CCTV images showed him acting aggressively and being the closest to Nathaniel at the time of the punch.
The court heard how one of Turton’s friends described him as wanting to hit someone, drinking heavily, and looking to start a fight, and how his behaviour had completely changed and he was acting ‘aggressively and jumpy.
Turton, 21, of Brooksby Lane, Clifton, appeared in Nottingham Crown Court today (29 July) after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
He was sentenced to nine years in prison and will have to serve another five years on licence upon his release.
In a powerful statement read aloud to the court by his sister, Louisa, she explained how their lives had completely changed and how Turton’s actions had ruined all of their Christmases, birthdays, and lives.
I don’t know where to begin, Nathaniel was the best brother we could have asked for, he was courageous and always wanted to make a difference in this world,” she said.
“Our brother always made a big impression on everyone he met and made all of us proud every day.”
“He travelled the world and lived his life to the fullest, and he had so much more to give to this world, but it was taken from him.”
He was a wonderful uncle, and it would have been wonderful to see if Nathaniel ever had children of his own, but we will never know.
He was going to take his younger sister to a car dealership after she passed her test and help her buy a car, but now he won’t.” She was looking forward to her big brother buying her first car and showing her big brother her first home, but he won’t be there to witness it all.
“We will never know how he would have lived the rest of his life, and that pains us tremendously.”
“I had never seen my mother cry before, but I did in the days following the incident and it absolutely devastated me, hearing how she wished it had been her instead – my heart broke.”
“Not only has this affected us all emotionally, but it has also had a physical impact on the majority of us.”
“I feel an obvious amount of stress all of the time, so I have to keep myself busy so that I feel tired all of the time since the day it happened.”
Louisa continued, “You have taken the life of a young man who was so loved, loved life, and was always so dedicated to making a change and standing up for other people’s rights.”
You have caused us all pain and suffering.” You have ruined every birthday and Christmas because you took not only Nathaniel’s life, but all of our lives when you took my brother’s life.
Nathaniel’s family said in a statement released after his sentencing, “As a family, we know that nothing can bring Nathaniel back, but we would like to thank the Judge for his comments today and the sentence that was passed.
“It gives us comfort to know that Kyle Turton will be in prison for a longer period of time than we anticipated, and that he will have plenty of time to reflect on what he has done before seeing his family again.”
“By your completely unjustified and unnecessary actions, you brought to an end the life of a young man who had done nothing to you,” said Judge Stuart Rafferty QC in sentencing Turton.
And who, in any case, didn’t deserve to die?” You didn’t intend to kill him, which is true because you’re charged with manslaughter rather than murder, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of what you did to him and his family, who endured the agony of spending day after day at the hospital waiting to see if he would live, which he tragically did not.
“There will come a time when you will go home and resume your normal life, but that will never happen for them.”
“You didn’t just change his life by ending it; you destroyed him and their lives.”
“You’ve been out of control for a long time. You didn’t need to get involved in an argument between the deceased and his partner if one was going on – you didn’t need to act the way you did and get involved in something that had nothing to do with you.
“Nathaniel had said or done nothing to you, but you moved in and hit him so hard that he was unconscious before hitting the ground.”
“If you’re not ashamed, you should be.”
Turton admitted in court that his actions had caused great pain to Nathaniel’s family and to his own family, and that he will live with the consequences of his actions that night for the rest of his life.
I first want to thank Nathaniel’s family for their support and cooperation during the investigation, as well as the strength and dignity they have shown throughout the court proceedings,” said Detective Constable Rebecca Butler of Nottinghamshire Police.
“Our hearts go out to Nathaniel’s family, friends, and everyone who knew him; their loss is heartbreaking, and as a force, we will continue to offer our support.”
“This incident demonstrates how a single punch can have devastating consequences, as demonstrated in this case by one moment of aggression resulting in a lifetime of consequences, regret, and guilt.”
“This one act of aggression has now landed Turton in prison for nearly a decade, and he will be under supervision for another five years when he is released.”
“I hope this case demonstrates that we will never tolerate violent offences of this nature and will take each and every one extremely seriously, doing everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice.”
