Two people have been convicted of manslaughter for a fatal attack on a man they had earlier subjected to homophobic abuse. Ian Baynham, 62, of Beckenham, south-east London, was assaulted in Trafalgar Square in September 2009. He died 18 days later. He was punched by Joel Alexander, 20, and then repeatedly stamped on by Ruby Thomas, 18, as he lay unconscious. Witnesses saw his head being repeatedly kicked. The Old Bailey heard shocked onlookers had seen his head being kicked. Rachael Burke, 18, was found guilty of affray at an earlier trial but cleared of manslaughter. BBC reports the court heard one of the girls was overheard saying "we can do them" as a gay couple walked past them holding hands. Later Thomas made homophobic comments when the victim and his friend Philip Brown passed them. The court heard Baynham told Thomas: "No, I don't want to sleep with you", before the row escalated. Witnesses describing the ensuing attack like something out of A Clockwork Orange. BBC reports that in a victim impact statement Jenny Baynham said her brother's death had "devastated" their 90-year-old mother. "I was horrified at what had happened and found it difficult to understand why anyone could have assaulted him in that way. "It seems so ironic that his life ended so horrifically and senselessly on the streets of London which he loved so much. "He was very aware some people were prejudiced against him." She added that her brother, who was openly gay, had "deep-rooted traditional values and would always stand up for his beliefs". All three attackers will be sentenced in 2011.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 17th December 2010 - 12:08pm