Iraq War veteran's punch-killer jailed for murder

Gregory Twigg punched "defenceless" Lee Woodward in a street attack, from which Mr Woodward died 10 months later

A man has been jailed for murdering an Iraq War veteran, who he punched three times in a drink and drug-fuelled street attack.

Gregory Twigg, 32, attacked Lee Woodward, 39, in Stoke-on-Trent on 24 June 2022, leaving him with brain damage, from which he died 10 months later.

Mr Woodward's fiancée, Kate Griffin, who was also assaulted by Twigg said: "I miss my boy every single day. I mourn for what life should have been."

Twigg, who was on licence from jail at the time, was handed a life sentence at Stafford Crown Court with a minimum tariff of 14 years, reduced to 11 years after the the time he had already served in prison.

The court heard Twigg was a passenger in a Vauxhall Astra being driven by his friend, Nathan Lockley, on their way to a night out in Newcastle-under-Lyme with some female passengers.

Mr Woodward was leaving The Liquor Vaults pub, having had a drink with his fiancée, and walked past the car being driven by Mr Lockley on Hill Street.

Judge Roger Thomas KC said it seemed Mr Woodward had taken some exception to the driving of that car, which then pulled into a side-street and led to a confrontation between him and Mr Lockley.

Lee Woodward died in April 2023 after being punched three times by Gregory Twigg

Addressing Twigg, who admitted he had taken cocaine and drunk vodka and sambuca that night, Judge Thomas said: "There was no indication violence would follow between them.

"You got out of the car and while Woodward's focus was on Lockley, you hit him with a very heavy punch he didn't see coming which knocked him to the floor."

The judge said Mr Woodward had struggled to get back to his feet and needed help from his fiancée.

"He was unsteady on his feet and in no position to defend himself, but you approached him again and landed another heavy punch on him which [pushed him] back into a parked car," Judge Thomas said.

Series of previous convictions

Twigg then punched Mr Woodward again with a blow to the head, which knocked him unconscious as he fell to the ground. He would never wake up and died in hospital 10 months later.

Twigg initially pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm against Mr Woodward, but after his death, Twigg pleaded not guilty to his murder, but was convicted by a jury after a trial in July.

Judge Thomas told Twigg: "Stringing the case out as you have done – you have extended and amplified the understandable anguish Lee Woodward's loved ones have experienced."

The court also heard Twigg has a series of previous convictions including battery, criminal damage, threats to kill and burglary.

Twigg's defence team said he had since been assessed as having "limited cognitive ability" and that there had been instances where he had "resorted to outburst [...] because of his difficulty in understanding a certain situation or trying to conceal his own limited functioning".

However, they said this was not "Mr Twigg trying to say this in any way excuses his behaviour".

'We are destroyed'

The court heard three victim impact statements from Ms Griffin, and her two adult daughters, who spoke of their 10-month anguish while Mr Woodward was in hospital, followed by their grief over finally losing him.

"The deterioration we saw was absolutely horrific," Ms Griffin said.

She said her and her family's lives had been "ripped apart in a way few people will ever comprehend".

"It was always me and him against the world," she said.

"Time's moved on, [but] we are not the same family. We are destroyed, [just] going through the motions. I miss my boy every single day."