A prolific thief who displayed ‘extreme aggression and temper’ as he kicked and punched a pensioner to death in the street after demanding his groceries has been jailed.
Peter Augustine, 59, brutally murdered 87-year-old frail John Mackey after he visited a Co-op store in Manor House, north London, on the afternoon of May 6.
Augustine had watched Mr Mackey as he made his way to the shop then a takeaway to buy himself some dinner.
The killer shouted ‘give me the bag’ during the tussle, and left his elderly victim lying prone on the floor and bleeding profusely from his head after a savage, minute-long assault.
Augustine, who claimed he was motivated by hunger, then frisked Mr Mackey, who had dementia and walked with a stick, and made off with his shopping bag – which included a box of cornflakes, an own brand cottage pie and his dinner of sausage and chips.
Augustine, who refused to attend court, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years before he can be considered for release by Her Honour Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC at the Old Bailey today.
She said: ‘It was a cowardly attack, the defendant has shown no remorse.
‘If he (Augustine) was genuinely starving, I have no doubt that this kind, generous gentleman would have shared what he had with him.’
Mr Mackey’s family praised the judge’s verdict, saying: ‘Knowing [Augustine] will never see the light of day is the only consolation we have to losing such a wonderful uncle.’
Mr Mackey’s niece Patricia Schan gave a moving statement to the court on behalf of the family.
She described her Arsenal-supporting uncle as ‘perfect’, one of 11 brothers and sisters who had no children of his own but was very close to his 22 nieces and nephews.
She said: ‘He always had a twinkle in his eye, dressed immaculately and never seen without one of his many trilby hats.’
A member of the jury, who returned to witness the sentencing, appeared to wipe a tear from her eye as Ms Schan paid tribute to her uncle, an Irishman from Callan in County Kilkenny, who had lived in London for around 70 years.
John’s family also paid tribute to him outside court, saying: ‘Today is the end of a journey our family never wanted to take and wouldn’t wish on anyone.
‘A lovely gentle uncle was taken from us in a brutal act of senseless violence by a man the exact opposite of John Mackey
‘Dearly loved by your sisters Betty and Ellen, brothers Tommy and Liam, his 22 nieces and nephews in his community, John was a quiet, unassuming, and charming man.’
‘His loss will always be felt, but his memory will live on in the true Irish tradition of storytelling, and there are still many tales. He will always be remembered with a smile.
Police pieced together events from CCTV footage, although the attack itself was not caught on camera.
Mr Mackey had set off from his address shortly after 5pm wearing a distinctive trilby hat, grey mackintosh coat and carrying a walking stick and black bag.
At 5.12pm, he went into the Co-op where he bought cornflakes, an own-brand cottage pie and Mirror newspaper which he put in his bag.
He paid for his goods using a £20 note and put the change of £11.50 in his trouser pocket.
Eighteen minutes later, Augustine began to follow the pensioner.
Mr Mackey then went into Manor Kebab at 5.36pm and bought sausage and chips as the defendant loitered outside, the trial was told.
The victim was last seen on camera at 5.50pm and Augustine reappeared on CCTV three minutes later carrying what looked like the victim’s bag, the trial heard.
A later search of the defendant’s room uncovered what was left of Mr Mackey’s groceries and wrapping from the cottage pie, and sausage and chips.
Mr Mackey regained consciousness briefly in hospital but was unable to tell police exactly what happened before he died from his injuries.
Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC previously told the trial Mr Mackey was 5ft 5ins tall and weighed less than nine stone.
She said: ‘He would have been largely unable to put up any resistance to the attack due to his age and infirmity.’
She told the sentencing hearing today: ‘What he (Augustine) in fact did, over the course of a minute, was he used a level of violence, causing in that time a fatal injury, all wholly unnecessary, carried out in extreme anger.’
The prosecutor told jurors that at the time, Augustine was living in ‘reduced circumstances’ and was effectively homeless.
She said he had used ‘extreme force’ after he targeted Mr Mackey.
‘When the defendant kicked and punched an elderly, vulnerable and largely defenceless man, who was prone on the floor, the Crown says that he intended to cause him really serious harm,’ Ms Bickerstaff said.
Augustine was handed a life term with a minimum of 23 years for murder, less the 203 days he has spent in custody.
He was also handed an eight-year sentence for robbery, and a further four-week sentence for theft three days before the attack. The sentences will run concurrently.
The judge said Augustine, who has a host of previous convictions, may never be released from prison.
