Two people have been jailed after their brutal attack led to the death of a homeless and vulnerable York man.
Andrew Fowler, 43, previously of Monkton Road, York was jailed for seven years and Amanda Jane Moran, 29, of Leeds was jailed for six years for the manslaughter of Stephen Eastwood.
Fowler and Moran pair pleaded guilty earlier this month after attacking Stephen on March 27, 2012.
Despite medical treatment, he never recovered from his injuries and died in hospital in May 2014, two years after the attack.
Found unconscious
Stephen, who was 45 at the time of the attack, was left with serious injuries and found unconscious inside a derelict garage on Lawrence Street, York.
Both the victim and the defendants were regular drug users and often slept at the disused garage which was frequented by a number of other homeless people.
Stephen – also known as Tiv – was attacked during an argument over drugs, Leeds Crown Court was told.
Moran and Fowler had given Stephen money to buy heroin and when he failed to deliver what they were expecting, they were angry with him.
An argument flared up and both defendants followed Stephen into a room in the garage where the argument continued.
Both defendants later emerged from the room, but Stephen did not.
He was found with serious injuries, bleeding and barely conscious by another person who was present in the building at the time.
Stephen was taken to York Hospital and never recovered from his injuries.
‘Vicious and cowardly’
Stephen remained in hospital until May 2014, when he sadly died at the age of 47. The cause of his death was pneumonia, which was a direct consequence of his head injury.
Detective Chief Inspector Allan Harder of North Yorkshire Police, said:
No one deserves to die in these circumstances, let alone at the hands of people they regarded as “friends”.
It is a tragic story of someone who led an already difficult life, plagued with drug abuse, alcohol abuse and homelessness, who ended up losing his life as a result of an argument over heroin.
It is a stark reminder of the evils of drugs and the lifestyle they fuel.
I hope the sentence handed out today gives Fowler and Moran ample time to reflect on their vicious and cowardly attack on Stephen and the tragic consequences of their actions.