A MAN who had been on a 24-hour alcohol binge before fatally stamping on a spice user’s head has been told he will spend a minimum of 17 years behind bars.
Ricky Ramsden, 27, was found guilty of murdering 39-year-old Dawid Szubert, who had taken the drug in Mandela Gardens, Barnsley town centre, at about 3pm on June 17.
Father-of-two Ramsden, of Dodworth Road, gave evidence at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday and told a jury he consumed ‘about 15 pints of cider, jagerbombs, vodka Red Bulls and shots of sambuca’ having started his binge with friends in the afternoon the previous day.
He said: “Our group met at about 4.30pm on June 16 as it was the day of Barnsley Live, a popular music event in the town centre which we enjoyed going to every year.
“I ended up being out for about 24 hours in total - I had no sleep and we went to Barnsley Central Working Men’s Club at about 12pm the following day having gone back to a friend’s house.
“I went back home a bit later for my pool cue, at about 2pm, and walked down to The Garrison (a pub which overlooks Mandela Gardens).
“I seemed okay at first but my head was spinning and I was feeling worse for wear. I went outside for some fresh air and it was then when I saw an unconscious man on the floor, what I’d call a ‘spicehead’.
“There had been a lot of them in the months before and I thought it was out of order - my kids come into the town centre and it’s disgusting to see.”
Ramsden admitted stamping on Mr Szubert’s head - although he denied using excessive force when he was asked to re-enact the movement he made when delivering the blow by Brian Cox, defending.
A post-mortem examination, carried out by Dr Charles Wilson, revealed the Polish national died from a head injury as a result of a ‘heavy and forceful’ blow which caused a severe bleed on the base of the brain and triggered a cardiac arrest.
“I accept there was some force and yes, I did stamp on him,” Ramsden added. “I accept I caused his death but I’ve spent six months in my cell thinking why I did it.
“To this day I can’t think of a reason. It was a mindless, stupid act and I don’t know what I was doing. When I went back into The Garrison I regretted my actions but I didn’t think I had used enough force to cause a serious injury.”
The jury was told Ramsden stayed in the pub for about five minutes after the incident, before he returned home having become ‘agitated’ when police officers came into the venue and told staff to lock the door onto Mandela Gardens and close their curtains as a serious incident had taken place.
Ramsden, who handed himself into police on June 20, also admitted to getting rid of his mobile phone in an attempt to cover up Facebook messages - which were eventually uncovered by investigators - sent to his friend, Charlotte Firth, in which he said he acted like a ‘bad boy’ to impress her.
The jury was also told that Ramsden had a previous assault conviction for breaking his mother’s arm and a caution for causing bruising to his baby’s head via a shove.
A jury took just over two hours to find him guilty and Judge Roger Thomas QC handed Ramsden a life sentence, with a minimum term of 17 years.
He said: “You had no reason to leave the public house but you saw Dawid Szubert, who in your words was a ‘dirty spicehead’, laid unconscious.
“You had it in mind to do him some damage and this crystallised in your head. You had the forethought to go over to him and you stamped on his head, forcefully, causing very significant internal bleeding which brought about his death very quickly.
“You lied to the police and showed no regret or remorse at that stage and caused the death of a vulnerable, defenceless and unconscious man.”
