Overview
- Wiltshire Police, which on Monday charged 40-year-old Abuzer Erdem with manslaughter, said he is on conditional bail and due at Swindon Magistrates Court on May 26.
- The assault took place on April 1, 2013 on Wood Street in Old Town, leaving 27-year-old Sam Rees with a severe head injury and dependent on full-time care.
- Erdem, of Ferndale Road in Swindon, was previously jailed for 12 months for inflicting grievous bodily harm over the same attack.
- Rees died in December 2023, which under UK law allowed police to pursue a manslaughter charge and they reopened the case.
- Detective Constable Jemma Humphreys of the Major Crime Investigation Team is leading the probe and urged people to walk away from late-night violence.