Man jailed for pub manager baseball bat murder

Maksim Iliev will serve a minimum of 17 years in prison

A man who murdered a pub manager with a baseball bat has been jailed for life.

Bulgarian Maskim Iliev, 36, will serve a minimum of 17 years in prison for fatally striking dad-of-one Adrian Whiting.

Iliev's partner, Katya Tsoneva, 35, was also jailed for two years for attempting to help Iliev escape the country.

Mr Whiting was described by his mother as an "exceptional father", who was "one in a million", Lincoln Crown Court heard.

Iliev had been arguing with Tsoneva at the Carpenter's Arms in Boston on 14 January when Mr Whiting, 35, intervened and told them to leave.

He then took a bat from a storage cupboard and prodded Iliev - something he "did not take kindly to", Judge Simon Hirst said.

Iliav then took the baseball bat and stuck Mr Whiting twice, the court heard.

Both his partner and the couple's young child were inside the pub at the time.

Adrian Whiting, 35, died in hospital after being struck with a bat

Mr Whiting died ten days later in hospital.

Iliev, of Union Street, Boston, had denied murder but was found guilty after a trial at the same court in July.

Passing sentence earlier, Judge Hirst said any provocation from Mr Whiting was limited and he did not accept Iliev was acting in self-defence.

"The second blow was severe against a defenceless man with his back turned," the judge said.

Tsoneva, who was convicted of assisting an offender, had returned to an address that she shared with Iliev to pack items, then used cash and jewellery to help fund a flight to Bulgaria, the court heard.

But Iliev was detained at the departure gates at Luton Airport.

Judge Hirst said Tsoneva had found herself in a difficult position and made the wrong decision.

'Indescribably devastated'

In a statement read to the court by prosecutor, Jonathan Cox, Mr Whiting's mother, Debbie Paul, described her son as having a "vibrant presence" that "was not just known, but felt".

She said he "breathed life into every room he walked into" and that his child has been "robbed of unconditional love".

"All he ever wanted was to have a family of his own," she said.

"We are left wondering how someone who has done so much, not just for his friends and family, but for all his charities, can be punished in this way.

"We are all indescribably devastated."

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.