Overview
- The attack, which took place on November 23 last year, left 22-year-old Mohammed Shaan Ali Rasul dead after he was bludgeoned in a Hartlepool flat.
- Judge Francis Laird KC told the court the defendant struck Rasul about a dozen times to the head and face, with ten blows delivered by a hand axe, and convicted Callum Howe of manslaughter rather than murder.
- Howe was sentenced to 16 years in prison with a further five years on extended licence and must serve a two-thirds custodial minimum before the Parole Board can consider release.
- A Home Office pathologist concluded Rasul died from blunt-force head injuries and prosecutors said a prolonged binge on cocaine, cannabis and pregabalin with sleep deprivation helped trigger the violence.
- Rasul’s family delivered an emotional impact statement in court describing lasting trauma and the police said the sentence may bring some closure while Howe’s violent behaviour after the attack — stumbling covered in blood and having to be restrained — featured in trial evidence.