A man left his “best friend” to die alone on his kitchen floor after launching a fatal alcohol and cocaine-fuelled attack on him, a court has heard.
Christian Dean, 36, was found dead at his home on Graig Road, in Ynyshir, near Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf on 26 June.
Mr Dean and Thomas Griffiths had been drinking at Mr Dean’s home when the defendant, who had boxing experience, launched an “explosive” punch before leaving the scene.
At Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, Griffiths, 34, who pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted manslaughter, was jailed for 11 years on the basis he killed his friend with a single punch.
The cause of death was a bleed to the brain caused by trauma.
Griffiths, from Riverside Close, Ynyshir, also received an extended two-year licence period after.
The court heard he had been drinking in a number of Ynyshir pubs before the attack then joined Mr Dean and went to his victim’s home.
Joined for some of the night by another man, the court heard the group continued drinking and took cocaine.
More alcohol was delivered to the home at 09.30 BST the following morning.
Mark Wyeth KC, prosecuting, said Griffiths’ friend Aletia Richards later received a call from him, who told her words to the effect of “I have hit him”.
Another resident on the street, the court was told, heard the defendant say on the phone: “I have just killed someone.”
That afternoon, Ms Richards visited Mr Dean’s home where he was found “cold to the touch” on the kitchen floor by a pool of blood.
His blood was also found in the hall and on the front door, the prosecution said, suggesting there had been “contact” between Mr Dean and Griffiths before he left his victim to “bleed out”.
That afternoon, police went to Griffiths’ parents’ home, finding him in a bedroom in his boxer shorts and socks.
After being arrested, police bodycam footage recorded the defendant asking “are you serious mate?” and calling Mr Dean as his “best friend”.
In a statement read to the court Mr Dean’s 12-year-old daughter said her heart had been “broken” by her father’s death.
He was always “joking and laughing” she said, adding: “Our lives have changed forever. I don’t want to get up and face the fact I will never see my dad again.
“I still text him like I normally would and then it hits me I will never get a text back”.
In her victim impact statement, Mr Dean’s girlfriend, Kayleigh Sheppard, told the court Griffiths “took away everything he could have been”.
Questions from her young son about where his dad was were “heart-breaking” to answer.
In police interview, Griffiths claimed he had not “harmed or fought with Mr Dean”.
Carole Rees KC, defending, said he changed his plea to guilty on being hearing the evidence.
“This was someone who was one of his closest friends, the defendant could not believe he had done it,” she said.
Ms Rees said Griffiths had “no recollection” of what had happened, but had written a letter of remorse to the court.
Sentencing Griffiths, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said the defendant must have launched “an unexpected and forceful” attack.
Referring to Griffiths’ boxing experience she told the court he “must have known the harm” a punch can do.
South Wales Police’s Det Ch Insp Matt Davies said after the case: “We hope that today’s sentencing provides some measure of justice and allows the family to begin healing.
“The tragedy of Christian’s death serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of violence and the far-reaching effects it can have on families and communities.
“As Griffiths begins his sentence, the legacy of Christian will live on in the hearts of those who loved him.”
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