Former jockey who punched pensioner to death outside pub jailed for manslaughter

A former jockey has been jailed for three years for the manslaughter of a 71-year-old pensioner he punched outside a pub, causing him to fall and strike his head.

Judge Sean Enright told Levi Williams, 27, that he “could have just trotted away” from the altercation.

Richard Wingrove died in hospital 10 days after the incident in Newmarket, Suffolk, on March 8, 2025. He had sustained a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain, and was initially placed in an induced coma.

Peterborough Crown Court heard that Mr Wingrove, who walked with a stick, and his son Jamie Wingrove, had been drinking in pubs before being “separately ejected from the Waggon and Horses after disorderly and abusive behaviour towards staff”.

Prosecutor Jane Oldfield explained that Williams and his friend, both jockeys, were present during altercations between the Wingroves and pub staff. CCTV footage shown in court appeared to show the jockeys attempting to block Jamie Wingrove from re-entering the pub after a physical altercation with the publican.

When Williams and his friend later left the pub, a verbal exchange ensued with the Wingroves. Ms Oldfield stated that Williams was seen throwing a punch at Jamie Wingrove, then at Richard Wingrove. The older man fell but got back up and “rejoined the fray”.

The altercation continued, and Williams “suddenly punched Richard Wingrove to the head causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement” for a second, fatal time.

Upon his arrest, Williams, now of Trefonen, Oswestry, Shropshire, was described as drunk, shaken, and said “it was an accident”. He also tested positive for cocaine. In interview, Williams claimed he had consumed two to three pints of beer and that he felt threatened, with punches being thrown “both ways”.

Judge Enright acknowledged that Williams was “not the aggressor at the start” and that initial blows “could be classed as self-defence”. However, he added: “The last punch can’t be so justified. You were in drink, you had taken cocaine, you hit a vulnerable man to the head.”

There was sobbing in the public gallery as Williams, who rode his last winner in February 2023, was led to the cells.

In her victim impact statement, Mr Wingrove’s daughter, Louisa Reah, highlighted her father’s “poor eyesight and relied on a walking stick”. She added that her younger daughter was pregnant at the time, and the child “would have been my father’s first great grandchild”.

Mitigating, William England said Williams had “never been involved in any violence of any sort in the past”.

Detective Constable Hannah Barrett, speaking outside court, described Richard Wingrove’s death as a “completely avoidable act of violence” that occurred while he was celebrating his birthday, causing “devastation for so many people”.