Murder accused behaved like an oaf, trial hears

A pub-goer who fatally punched a grandfather outside a bar, causing his skull to crack when he fell to the ground, was behaving like an "oaf" before the attack, a prosecutor has said.

Peter Joyce KC used his closing speech at Leicester Crown Court to submit that David Darke, 66, was standing up to Nathan Gothard, 37, before he was struck at The Crown Inn in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire, on 21 December.

Gothard, of Church Street, Appleby Magna, denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter, claiming he was acting in self-defence after Darke threatened to kill him.

Gothard's barrister Balraj Bhatia KC said in his closing speech on Friday that "not a single threat" was made by Gothard.

In his closing speech to jurors, Joyce said: "David Darke is dead because this oaf decided to hit him rather than walk round him.

"He did that having behaved boorishly, odiously, and with contempt for everyone except his own sense of dignity and pride that night.

"That's the reality of this case."

He continued: "Who was the aggressor in the pub? He was. He would have you believe no, no, he was the one being offended, he was the one being insulted. What absolute nonsense."

Gothard told the court on Thursday he felt "ridiculed" by a group of people inside the bar on the evening of 21 December, and that Darke had grabbed his shoulder and "threatened to bury me and put me in the ground".

Prosecutors submit Gothard had made a woman inside the bar "very, very uncomfortable" and created a "menacing, threatening, argumentative and disputing" atmosphere.

There were audible cries from the public gallery when Joyce said: "[Mr Darke's] sin that night was standing up to the oaf on behalf of this group, and for that he ended up dead at the hands of the oaf.

"That was his sin - having the courage to stand up to him and being punched so hard he didn't see Christmas."

Bhatia told the jury: "Oaf, aggressor, murderer - that's what the prosecution say Nathan Gothard is.

"Nathan Gothard did not know David Darke, had no beef, no bad blood with David Darke. Had no reason, you may think, to want him harmed, to want him dead.

"We have threats made by David Darke 'I'm going to bury you'. Those threats are confirmed by witnesses.

"Not a single threat was made by Nathan Gothard."

Bhatia added: "Who was the aggressor inside the pub? We submit, on the evidence, it was not him. He may have been acting like a prat, he may have been acting like an oaf, but he was not the aggressor."

Gothard was sitting with his head down in the dock while the jury listened to the closing speeches.

Jurors were told they will retire to begin their deliberations on Tuesday.

Listen to BBC Radio Leicester on Sounds and follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.