Overview
- CCTV from 19 November 2023 shows Dylan Maxwell striking 25‑year‑old Luke Thompson in Pontefract, leaving him with catastrophic head injuries that led to his death ten days later.
- Leeds Crown Court convicted Maxwell of manslaughter and jailed him for 11 years, and he received an extra 2 years 10 months for drug offences for a combined sentence of 13 years 10 months.
- Thompson’s family authorised the release of the distressing footage to deter violence and to make the point that a single punch can be fatal.
- Court and police records say Maxwell fled the scene in a taxi using a false name, that Thompson was later run over but those injuries did not cause his death, and that police had previously recovered drugs, cash, phones and weapons linked to Maxwell.
- The case has left lasting trauma for Thompson’s family, who lost a father of two and were expecting a third child, and West Yorkshire Police have used the sentence and the footage to press people to avoid confrontations on nights out.