Men jailed for killing 'peacemaker' father in Sedgley

Six men found guilty of killing a man who tried to step in as "peacemaker" and stop an attack have been jailed.

Reece Cox, 24, had been on a night out with friends in Sedgley, Dudley, on 15 August, when he saw a man being attacked by a group, police said.

They turned their attention to father-of-one Mr Cox, who was beaten to death.

The five men convicted of murder, Shane Jones, 26, Shaquel Halliday, 22, Wayne Burke, 23, Sebastian Jones, 19, and Adam Ashwin, 20, were jailed for life.

Ryan Nickin, 23, who was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter at Wolverhampton Crown Court, was given a 12 year prison sentence.

Mr Cox and his friends ended up in The Clifton pub, West Midlands Police said, and as he made his way to a taxi rank, a man accidentally bumped into one of the defendants, Joe Williams.

Reece Cox's family said he had a strong bond with his son

Williams' group attacked the man, with Ashwin dragging him into the road and back towards the pub, police added.

Mr Cox, "a gentle giant" according to his family, stepped in to help.

His family said in a tribute released by police that he was never aggressive but "would step up and front anything that wasn't right".

"Reece was a hero that night and lost his life saving someone else's. We still cannot believe he has gone and think about him every single day," they added.

They said he had an "amazing bond" with his son and "it has broken our hearts to see the torment he has had to go through".

Top L-R: Wayne Burke, Shane Jones, Shaquel Halliday. Bottom L-R: Ryan Nicklin, Sebastian Jones, Adam Ashwin

Det Insp Laura Harrison said Mr Cox had been described "as just a genuinely nice guy" by the family.

Calling him the "peacemaker", she added: "I think his actions on that evening played that out in terms of he saw somebody else in trouble and decided to step in."

The Wolverhampton Wanderers season ticket holder spent his time looking after his son and looked after himself, going to the gym, Det Insp Harrison added.

Events "quickly unravelled" and she said the killing was "a real concerted effort by a group of people with no real meaning".

The five men were convicted of murder on Friday.

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Shane Jones, of Orchard Grove, Lower Gornal, Wayne Burke, of Queens Street, Pensnett and Shaquel Halliday, of Shadwell Drive, Lower Gornal will all serve a minimum term of 18 years.

Sebastian Jones, of Corser Street, Dudley, was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years, while Adam Ashwin, of Monument Lane, Sedgley, will serve a minimum of 16-and-a-half years.

Shane and Sebastian Jones, Burke, Halliday and Nickin, of Limes Avenue, Pensnett, were also convicted of violent disorder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, with Ashwin admitting those counts.

They were each given additional prison sentences ranging from 14 months to three years for the offences, to run concurrently with their other jail terms.

(L-R) Tyrone Halliday and Joe Williams were sentenced after pleading guilty to offences

Tyrone Halliday, 25, from Shadwell Drive, Lower Gornal, pleaded guilty to affray and was given a two year community order and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Williams, 18, of Frome Close, Lower Gornal, who admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, was given a 10 month prison term, suspended for two years.