'Cynical and remorseless' man found guilty of manslaughter

A MAN has been found guilty of manslaughter after a drunken attack.

- DAVID POWELL Reporter

Paul Ince, 31, had been on trial for manslaughter over the death of John Ithell after allegedly punching the 59-year-old.

At about 2.30pm yesterday after seven hours of deliberations a judge at Mold Crown Court told the jury he would accept a majority verdict.

Minutes later they returned a guilty verdict of 11-1 on the ninth day of the trial. As Ince remained expressionless in the dock, a judge told him he had “cynically” tried to avoid responsibility for a “mindless piece of drunken violence”. He could see “little if any” sign of remorse.

Mr Ithell and a friend had gone to Pont Wen in Pentre Gwyn to buy drugs, the court had heard.

But when Ince heard Mr Ithell, he felt “morally superior”, according to the prosecution, “bounced” down the stairs out of a first-floor flat and punched Mr Ithell in the garden.

Mr Ithell fell backwards into a fence, then banged his head on a concrete path, Mold Crown Court heard. He sustained a fractured skull and a brain bleed in the attack on June 12, 2023.

Mr Ithell's friend Rebecca Baldini later told police she had heard a “clack”. She said Mr Ithell “flew” 4-5ft and hit a wooden fence.