South Wales PoliceA “cowardly” man killed a pub-goer with a single punch after he thought he was making fun of his partner’s karaoke singing.
Christopher Cooper, 39, punched the 64-year-old. Kelvin Evans from Gorseinon, SwanseaA bar outside the Station Hotel pub on 26 May 2023.
Judge Geraint Walters told Swansea Crown Court that Mr Evans and his partner made Cooper feel “light-headed” after sharing a look while his partner Catherine Tracey Frances was singing karaoke.
Cooper, of Maritime Quarters in Swansea, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years. Francis, 54, was found guilty of assisting an offender and sentenced to two years in prison.
Family photoCooper and Frances, from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, were in the pub – known locally as The Jeep – when the attack happened.
Judge Walters said the killing “came from the realization that your partner was killed by Mr Evans and his partner simply looking at each other and saying something, which you heard about the voice of Tracy Francis using the karaoke machine. I understood.” .
He said the interaction “is etched in your mind from that moment on and was enough to trigger an attempt to do grievous bodily harm – effectively an act of revenge”.
“No one will harass you, or anyone associated with you, without paying for it,” he added.
Cooper chased Mr Evans as he left the pub and punched him once in the back of the head, with the judge saying he believed Cooper would have hit him again had he not fallen to the floor.
Mr Evans was immediately sedated and taken to hospital but his condition worsened and he died a month later.
South Wales PoliceHe said it was “chilling” that Cooper bragged about the attack, called his fists “this bad boy” and showed no remorse during the trial.
Judge Walters told Cooper it was “a cowardly punch … completely unexpected”.
Cooper pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder, but was convicted by a jury after a two-week trial.
After the hearing, the Crown Prosecution Service said Francis knew about the attack but did not call the police.
Analysis of his phone showed he searched hotels after the attack and the pair were arrested at a service station the next day.
Judge Walters said Francis lied throughout his evidence and showed no remorse.
Mr Evans was described by family as a kind man who would help anyone. He loved trips in his camper van Bella, often taking loved ones out for days at a time.
His 92-year-old mother Maureen said she sees her son’s picture every morning and night and cried as she told the court her grief.
Mr Evans’ nephew Mark Jones said: “To lose him in such a cowardly attack was nothing short of devastating.”
He said Cooper and Francis’ lies were “disrespectful and disturbing”.