Judge frees man involved in fatal neighbour dispute fist fight

Standing in the dock of Newry Crown Court, 52-year-old Brian Nicholl assured Judge Gordon Kerr KC he would comply with the 100 hours community service and two years under probation supervision, before he was given a clear warning that any breach of any aspect would see him handed a 12-month jail sentence.

​On the day his trial was due to start last November Nicholl, from Ballinahone Close in Armagh, entered a guilty plea to manslaughter by causing the death of Nigel ‘Budgie’ Burgess on April 11, 2020.

​Summarising the case during his sentencing remarks yesterday, Judge Kerr outlined how the defendant and Mr Burgess lived three doors apart in the cul-de-sac just off the Hamiltonbawn Road.

​The victim had begun “watching the movements” of a man who lived between them “much to his annoyance”. This man called Nicholl just after 10pm that evening to tell him that “Budgie was in the car park”.

​Nicholl came outside and initially “there was a verbal confrontation” until the defendant “threw a punch”.

​“The deceased fought to defend himself and a fight ensued during which Brian Nicholl accepts that they exchanged punches,” said the judge, adding that the fight only stopped when Mr Burgess was “lying motionless and unconscious on the ground”.

​As the 65-year-old lay face down and unconscious Nicholl left him there and walked away, going back into his house where he changed his clothes.

​Judge Kerr said the post-mortem examination showed “there’s no evidence to suggest that Nigel Burgess was rendered unconscious as a result of any physical blow to the head” but did reveal that he had “severe narrowing of the arteries that were clogged”.

​He said the pathologist and a cardiac specialist were agreed in their views that Mr Burgess had suffered a fatal heart attack.

​Arrested and interviewed Nicholl “denied doing anything that would have caused his death”.

​Focusing on the defendant, Judge Kerr revealed the father of two has 78 previous convictions, mainly for public order offences but nothing in the last 12 years, has had to stop working as a painter and decorator due to ill-health but he is the main carer for his wife and mother.

​“In this case it’s important to note that the parties agree that the fact of the death means that the custody threshold has been met,” Judge Kerr told the court.

Judge Kerr added: “I make it absolutely clear that I do not consider a suspended sentence is appropriate”, but as a “direct alternative” to a 12-month sentence, he was imposing the enhanced combination order.

​Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin urged people to think about the possible consequences of their actions.

“This is a tragic case, which has seen a life cut short and left loved ones bereft. I would urge people to think about how their actions – within a matter of minutes or even seconds – can change lives forever.”