Murderer jailed for strangling man after pub fight

Kevin Horswill was found guilty of murder after a two-week trial in Chelmsford

A man who fatally strangled another man he got into an argument with at a pub has been jailed for at least 18 years.

Kevin Horswill murdered Richard Langley, 52, after following him to his home in Thaxted, Essex, in the early hours of 18 March 2024.

Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court found the 51-year-old guilty of murder after hearing he "tightly tied and twisted" Mr Langley's own clothing around his throat.

Imposing a life sentence, Judge Mary Loram KC said: "You left Mr Langley dying; you left his wife to find his body."

Horswill, of Magdalen Green in the town, had been angered by an altercation involving his fiancee at nearby pub, The Star, prior to the attack.

He made a "determined and measured decision to kill" Mr Langley after drinking 10 pints of beer, prosecutor Andrew Jackson said.

Mr Langley was found dead in his garden in Orchard Close by his wife Maureen, who said she had since sold the house due to the trauma.

In a statement read to the court on her behalf, she said: "I want to go and crawl in a corner and never come out."

Mr Jackson added: "Her lasting memory is of finding Mr Langley and she wakes up in the night reliving that."

Jurors were shown CCTV from the pub in which Horswill repeatedly shouted at Mr Langley that he was "a dead man".

Passing sentence, Judge Loram said: "In that moment you were full of rage and I have no doubt you meant every word, every threat."

She said Mr Langley was strangled for 15 seconds and suffered defensive injuries to his hands and arms.

The jury was also played a recording made by Mr Langley's neighbour, which captured sounds coming from his garden.

Pained noises from two people could be heard, including one person saying "get off, get off me", before ending in silence.

Addressing Horswill, the judge continued: "You took the life of Mr Langley.

"You did so by strangling him with his own clothing, pulling it so tightly round his neck that the thyroid cartilage was broken.

"You held on until he was unconscious - in fact he was dying - and then you left him there."

She said Horswill was "the larger and taller man" who used his physical advantage to take Mr Langley by surprise, having shown up at his house.

Horswill surprised Mr Langley by turning up at his house and springing an attack, Judge Loram said

Benjamin Aina KC, mitigating, said Horswill was usually a "gentle, kind and generous man".

He told the court: "On that night, having heard an assault on his partner, he took a wrong turn.

"The wrong turn was to engage in a struggle and the wrong turn was to use excessive force.

"There is nothing he can do to put that right. Sitting in his cell, that will be on his mind every single day."