A 22-year-old man has admitted throwing the single punch that led to an Oldham man’s death.
Louis Patrick Veitch, (born 28/1/88), of Caunce Street, Blackpool, pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square to the manslaughter of 25-year-old Andrew Molloy.
Today, Tuesday 7 September 2010, he was given an extended sentence of six and a half years in prison followed by three years on licence.
Andrew was felled with a single punch and died after his head hit the floor. The whole incident was captured on CCTV.
In the early hours of Monday 15 March 2010, Veitch was in the Mess House pub on Yorkshire Street, Oldham, when there was a disturbance inside and another man was ejected.
Veitch went outside onto the pavement where he spoke to a number of other people, including Andrew Molloy, none of which had been involved in the previous disturbance.
During the conversation with Andrew, Veitch suddenly moved to one side, touched him on the shoulder as if to line up a punch, and threw a single punch to the face.
The blow was so strong it knocked Andrew, who had his hands in his pockets, off his feet and he fell backwards, his head hitting the floor.
Andrew suffered a fatal head injury as he hit the floor. He was taken to Hope Hospital, where he died six hours later.
Senior Investigating Officer Andrew Tattersall said: “This was a sudden attack on an innocent, defenceless man who had his hands in his pockets at the time. He didn’t even have time to protect himself.
“We’ll never know why Veitch decided to pick on Andrew.
“We do know that Andrew’s needless and untimely death has left his family devastated.
“This case demonstrates the terrible consequences of just one punch or push.”
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