4 days Ago By The Telegraph
A shoplifter killed a pensioner by forcefully shoving her out of the way as he fled a sports shop after stealing socks. Joseph Smith, 37, ran into 68-year-old Christine Vasey, who fell back and cracked her head on the ground, leading to a serious head injury from which she died a few days later, Newcastle Crown Court heard. She and her husband Sidney had travelled to watch a Sunderland match from their home in Doncaster and were in the city centre ahead of the game when the incident happened at around 11.
30am on Oct 24 last year. Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter, theft, battery and possessing cannabis and was jailed for six years, and must serve a further four years on extended licence upon his release from prison. The court heard he stole the socks from a Sports Direct store and was racing around a blind corner into an alley when he ran into Mrs Vasey, who was walking with her husband.
Smith, who had taken cannabis and amphetamine, pushed Mrs Vasey to the neck and chest area with both hands. Despite attempts by medics to save her, she died on Nov 1. A member of staff from Sports Direct described the noise of Mrs Vasey’s head hitting the ground as “horrific”.
Smith ran away and was followed through the city centre and over the Wearmouth Bridge by a Sports Direct employee, who tried to detain him near the Stadium of Light, and managed to alert police in the area for the football match. The court heard Smith had 15 previous convictions including seven for theft and one for robbery. Judge Paul Sloan KC said: “The area was busy with shoppers, there was every risk as you hurtled around that blind corner, you would encounter other pedestrians.
That’s exactly what happened. “In that very moment as you turned the corner, the Vaseys were coming the other way and you came immediately upon Mrs Vasey and as you continued to run at speed, you used both hands to shove her forcefully out of the way. She was taken by surprise and had no opportunity whatsoever to break her fall.
” The judge said Mrs Vasey was a “vibrant, outgoing, much-loved lady” and that she and her “soul-mate” husband had been looking forward to spending quality time together in retirement. “All those plans for a happy retirement were obliterated by you,” he added. Ruth Holt, Mrs Vasey’s niece, said in a victim impact statement her aunt and Mr Vasey were “teen sweethearts” and he has suffered “immensely” as a result of her death.
She added he has regular flashbacks to the moment her head hit the ground. “Sidney has been diagnosed with PTSD and has spent hours agonising over what he could have done differently that fateful day,” she said. “As someone who protected her since they were teens, he feels guilty he was not the one attacked that day rather than her.
“When he sleeps he has tortuous dreams where he sees Christine but she’s out of reach.” Mark Denton, the managing director of the company where Mrs Vasey worked as an accounts manager, said she was “irreplaceable” and added: “I struggle to come to terms with the fact she’s no longer with us.” Sophie Allison-Howells, defending, said Smith is remorseful, has “limited intellectual ability”, is vulnerable and has paranoid schizophrenia.
He had not been complying with his medication and had been taking cannabis and amphetamine, the court heard..
