A violent drunk, who mistakenly accused a frail middle-aged pedestrian of stealing his mobile phone before inflicting a fatal beating, has been jailed.
Wayne Packer, 31, of Arlington Road, Camden will serve a minimum of six years and five months of a life sentence.
He will remain of licence for the rest of his life.
Packer pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 50 year-old Peter O'Loughlin, who he punched and kicked in the head in Camden Road, Holloway on June 4, last year.
The victim did not appear seriously injured, but had suffered a bleed to the brain and died on June 26.
Wood Green Crown Court heard Mr. O'Loughlin had caught a bus to Holloway and was confronted by the heavily-intoxicated defendant that evening.
After dropping his phone Packer accused Mr. O'Loughlin of stealing it and began verbally abusing him.
The victim, who had a history of ill health and was visibly frail, was then viciously assaulted by Packer, who punched him to the ground.
Packer then carried out a sustained assault on his helpless victim, kicking him several times and punching him again as he tried to get to his feet.
Passers-by tried to intervene, but Packer threatened them, intimating he had a knife and left the scene.
Officers attended and spoke to Peter, who did not appear to be visibly injured.
He was advised there would be a wait for an ambulance and said he would attend hospital himself.
Once at hospital, Peter’s condition deteriorated and scans revealed he had suffered a bleed on the brain as a result of the assault.
He remained in hospital, but died from his injuries three weeks later.
An investigation had been launched following the assault and Packer was identified as the suspect.
He was arrested on July 1, but denied being involved in a fight.
Despite the weight of evidence against him, including CCTV footage, he refused to answer questions about his involvement.
Detective Sergeant Kerry Burgess from Specialist Crime said: “Wayne Packer was heavily intoxicated that night, to the point that he did not realise he had dropped his phone.
“In a drunken rage, he appears to have taken his anger out on the first person he saw - unfortunately this was Peter O’Loughlin - a frail man in poor health.
“Peter could not offer any resistance to Packer’s cowardly assault – he was an innocent man who died as a result of a truly senseless attack.”
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