British man Neil Sutherland goes on trial for murder after ex-soldier he attacked 11 years ago dies of post-traumatic epilepsy
- Eleven years after Neil Sutherland attacked an ex-soldier with a baseball bat, his victim has died of epilepsy
- A pathologist who examined the ex-soldier’s body said there was an ‘unbroken link’ between the death and the assault
A British construction worker who was jailed 11 years ago for attacking an ex-soldier has gone on trial for murder after his victim died of epilepsy.
Neil Sutherland, 35, is charged with murdering Paul Mills by battering him with a baseball bat. He has already served a four-year jail sentence for the assault.
A jury heard on Monday that in 2006 the pair got into an argument over the sale of the metal bat in a layby before Sutherland, 22 at the time, repeatedly struck Mills to the head.
Mills suffered catastrophic head injuries including a fractured skull and brain damage as well as post-traumatic epilepsy, which meant he suffered uncontrollable regular seizures, the court heard.
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In 2017, 11 years after the attack and seven years after Sutherland was released from jail, 44-year-old Mills was found dead at his home near Warminster, Wiltshire, face-down in the bathroom.