Thug asked ‘why aren’t you dying?’ as he beat man with beer cans in racist attack

Kevin Wood launched a ‘prolonged and vicious’ attack on a man, which saw him use beer cans to hit the man as he lay helpless on the ground

In a brutal and unprovoked attack, a racist man attempted to murder another by mercilessly beating him with full beer cans while repeatedly asking: “Why aren’t you dying?”

Following a heavy drinking session, Kevin Wood, 38, carried out what was described as a “prolonged and vicious” assault on a man in Wallsend, leaving his victim with severe facial injuries. During the terrifying seven-minute onslaught in which he unleashed 50 blows, Wood used beer cans as weapons against the defenceless man on the ground, whilst hurling racist invective.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the distressing evidence that the entire episode was recorded by a doorbell camera nearby, eventually being stopped when a local resident intervened. Wood, who had been aggressively berating the victim, telling him he would kill him, was eventually apprehended by the police behind a wall.

On Wednesday, Wood appeared before the court from HMP Doncaster via video link to receive his sentence for attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon – the beer cans. He pleaded guilty to these charges stemming from the incident, which took place in the early hours of August 22 last year.

Further details revealed that Wood was living with his mother at the time and had consumed copious amounts of vodka and beer. Following the incident, his mother told authorities that her son had been in a “depressive mood” and suggested that his actions were driven by a desire to get himself incarcerated, reports Chronicle Live.

The victim was found covered in blood following the malicious encounter. In the early hours at approximately 3.15am, a violent altercation between two men prompted a police intervention. Upon arrival, officers discovered one of the men bloodied and lying on the pavement.

It was noted in court that the injured man was uncooperative with the attending officers, while Wood, drenched in the other man’s blood, was found concealed behind a small brick wall near Wallsend High Street.

Initially, Wood attempted to deceive the police by claiming he was the victim, alleging to officers ‘some d***y had tried to tax me’ – a statement later revealed in court to be an unequivocal falsehood. During his subsequent police interview, he chose to remain silent.

Jolyon Perks, leading the prosecution, revealed that doorbell cameras captured the totality of the aggressive encounter. Addressing the tribunal, he recounted: “Footage shows both men in discussion. The defendant had his hand around [the victim] preparing to strike. He asked what he thought of his brother, the victim said ‘he’s a mug’. The defendant then punched him to the ground, leaving him no opportunity to stand up.”

The hearing was informed that at the time of the initial punch, Wood was clutching a brimming beer can. The impact of the assault was so brutal that the can “exploded”. The aggression escalated as Wood seized two additional beer cans in proximity, utilising them as weapons in the assault.

According to evidence presented in court, the victim sustained roughly “50 forceful blows” to the head and visage, supplemented by Wood delivering kicks to the man’s head.

During the trial, the court was informed that the doorbell camera captured not only the visuals but also the audio of the attack. Mr Perks detailed: “The defendant told the victim he was going to die and repeatedly threatens to stab him and tells him he’s going to kill him. He says ‘you’re going to die but first I’m going to smash your face to bits…why aren’t you dying?'”.

Racist abuse was also a part of the harrowing incident, with Wood recorded hurling racial slurs at the victim, calling him “a little f***ing p*** b*****d”. The assault ceased when a neighbour intervened upon hearing the disturbance, prompting Wood to flee the scene. Upon his arrest, Wood remarked to an officer, “I hope this isn’t a race thing”.

The prosecution conveyed to the court their belief that the attempted murder was driven by racial animosity. Following the attack, the victim required medical attention at Cramlington Hospital for “complex facial injuries”, which included multiple lacerations to the lip, with one injury causing partial detachment.

The court also reviewed Wood’s criminal history, which includes 16 prior convictions spanning 23 offences. Notably, in 2018, Wood received a six-year prison sentence for rape. Additionally, while incarcerated, he broke a prison officer’s nose and later bragged about the incident.

Defence counsel Jamie Adams offered insight into Wood’s troubled past, stating: “This is a man who has been beset and blighted by an addiction to alcohol and drugs. Probably since his quite early years. It is likely to have begun a long time ago.”

The defence claimed that the altercation was not racially motivated, explaining that the two individuals involved, Wood and the victim, had a prior acquaintance rooted in their shared history of substance abuse.

Addressing the courtroom, the defence counsel, Mr Adams, said: “It became an addiction and at the time of this offending it is clear that on the night he was drinking heavily and had drank a whole bottle of vodka and cans of beer. He was not in a sober state of mind.”

“It was not an offence motivated by racism. He was a drunk Geordie man using the kind of words he was expressing. There are plenty of Geordie Pakistanis who refer to one another as p**** and d*****.”

According to Mr Adams, the racist language Wood employed during the altercation was used “in the anger of the moment” rather than driven by any intent to harm the victim due to his racial background or skin colour.

Judge Paul Sloan KC, presiding over the case, determined that Wood carried out a “prolonged and vicious attack” and utilised “racist abuse”. The judge deemed Wood to pose a “significant risk to members of the public” and subsequently sentenced him to an extended prison term of 20 years, with 15 years consisting of custodial time. Additionally, a restraining order was enforced.

Daily Record