A COCKERMOUTH man subjected an associate to two hours of violence after becoming “fixated” on the idea that his victim had “been with” his girlfriend.

During the prolonged assault in his victim's home, 41-year-old Gareth Skillen repeatedly punched and kicked the man before stamping on his head, trying to break his leg and threatening to kill him. 

Victim Andrew Sisson, who repeatedly denied any contact with the defendant’s girlfriend, was left covered in cuts and bruises.

Six months later, he was found dead in his flat.

He had earlier made a victim impact statement describing his “fragile” mental health and saying that the attack had left him afraid to leave his flat but also afraid to stay in it, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Skillen, of Melbreak Avenue, Cockermouth, admitted an actual bodily harm assault. Prosecutor Brendan Burke summarised the facts.

The background to the violence, said the prosecutor, was Skillen’s fixation on the idea that Mr Sisson had slept with his girlfriend, an allegation the victim repeatedly and consistently denied, even offering to hand over his phone as proof.

On January 22 last year, Skillen visited Mr Sisson at his flat.

By 11am that day, the defendant and Mr Sisson and another man were drinking vodka but not a “huge amount,” the victim later told police. At 3.45pm, as Mr Sisson was getting ready for work, Skillen again returned to his accusation about Mr Sisson and his girlfriend.

“Mr Sisson offered the defendant his phone to show that there had been no contact between him and her,” said Mr Burke. When Mr Sisson sat down, Skillen punched him in the face, and the attack continued as Mr Sisson pleaded with him to stop.

The prosecutor said: “Mr Sisson tried to escape from the flat but was dragged back by the defendant through the living room and into the bedroom, where the attack continued. The defendant started kicking his head and stamping on it.”

According to Mr Sisson, this went on for five minutes.

Skillen then grabbed and began twisting one of the victim’s legs in an attempt to break it as Mr Sisson kept saying he was telling the truth and he had not slept with Skillen’s girlfriend.

Skillen used a lamp to assault Mr Sisson, striking him four or five times over the head with it, threatening to kill him if he did not tell the truth. In total, said Mr Burke, the assault went on for two hours.

It was a relative of Mr Sisson who reported what happened to the police, who found the victim with two black eyes, and multiple cuts and bruises.

After the police got involved, the victim was first offered £1,000 to drop his complaint and then £15,000.

The police could not confirm who sent those messages, however.

Referring to the victim’s statement, Mr Burke said: “He said [the assault] had damaged his already fragile mental health. He had a history of anxiety and depression; he said the effect of the attack was to leave him scared to go out and scared to be inside.”

Mr Sisson was found dead in his flat on July 8 this year. The other friend who was also there but uninvolved in the violence has also since died.

After learning of this, said Mr Burke, Skillen had tried to blame that man for the violence.

Anthony Parkinson, for Skillen, said he had put his time in prison to good use, taking courses in topics such as substance awareness and “relapse prevention.” He had also earned praise for helping to save a fellow prisoner who tried to kill himself.

A fully qualified plumber, he had divorced in 2018 and then began abusing drugs and alcohol.

“The last six years have been very much a downward spiral for him,” said Mr Parkinson, adding that Skillen felt remorse and regret that he could not now apologise in person to Mr Sisson following his death in July.

Judge Nicholas Barker noted the “significant effect” of the attack on Mr Sisson, who appeared to have taken his own life.

“You can’t be held responsible for his death,” said the judge. “But that does not mean that this attack on him did not have consequences, didn’t have an effect on him, and didn’t play its part in Andrew Sisson’s death.

“He was a much-diminished man as a result of the attack. He was not resilient; he was not robust and sadly he has taken his own life.”

He jailed Skillen for three years.

* A coroner has yet to hear evidence about the death of Mr Sisson and provide a formal conclusion about the facts surrounding his death, including any ruling on whether or not it was the result of suicide.