Submitting.
Joseph Robotham died after he was punched with a bottle by Connor Rose
He told the jury that he had started drinking after work, first in the Chantrey Arms, Woodseats, and then at a nearby Wetherspoons. He then went on to Dronfield with some of the group, first to the Victoria, where he became separated from the others.
He then went to the Green Dragon, Dronfield, where he met another friend, identified in court as Adrian Strafford, also known as Spraps, and they headed to Chesterfield by taxi, along with a man and a woman who he didn’t know.
He fell to the floor and banged his head on the ground, fracturing his skull and causing brain injuries. He died in hospital the next day.
Giving evidence on Thursday, January 28, the jury heard transcripts of the four interviews, read out by a police officer and prosecution barrister Dawn Pritchard.
In the first interview, Rose denied any involvement and said he thought he was being chased because of his association with the other man involved in the initial altercation, identified in court as Adrian Strafford, also known as Straps.
In the second interview, which took place later on February 9, Rose was played CCTV footage of the incident, and admitted punching Mr Robotham, but denied having a bottle in his hand at the time, telling officers he “thought he was holding a packet of fags”.
He told the court. “IConnor seemed scared and said that he had been involved in a fight. He said he had got out of the way but there were people chasing him, and could I come and pick him up?
“He seemed so scared that I said that I would. He said there had been a fight and his mate had been hit and he just needed to get out of there.
“He said he was near the doughnut roundabout, and when I got there I pulled over and called him again and he said he was outside the dance studio.