Mother releases horrific CCTV of her 20-year-old son’s one-punch death

This is the horrific moment a ‘skilled’ boxer sucker-punched a 20-year-old man and killed him in one hit.

CCTV caught Brandon Sillence, 25, launching the vicious attack on Dean Skillin outside the Waverley Hotel in Bangor, Wales.

The killer can be seen lurking behind his victim during a row between punters in September 2020.

But he then punched the youngster in the side of the head so hard he was brain dead before he slumped on the ground.

Sillence was found not guilty of murder but was jailed for 10 years in December for manslaughter.

Mr Skillin’s family have now shared footage of the attack as they campaign for a tougher sentence for the killer.

They said they wanted the public to see that ‘there was no fight or words exchanged’ before their boy was punched.

Mr Skillin (pictured) tried to push away one of the men but as he stepped back Sillence hooked him in the right side of the head before punching Mr Lock

Mr Skillin (pictured) tried to push away one of the men but as he stepped back Sillence hooked him in the right side of the head before punching Mr Lock

Boxer Sillence is pictured before a fight in Liverpool in 2018

Boxer Sillence is pictured before a fight in Liverpool in 2018

Video showed the victim in a group outside the pub as he tried to diffuse a row between his cousin Taylor Lock and another punter.

Mr Skillin tried to push away one of the men but as he stepped back Sillence hooked him in the right side of the head before punching Mr Lock.

The victim’s body immediately went limp and he fell backwards on the pavement in front of horrified onlookers.

His friends raced over to check on him, lifting his head off the ground and appearing to tap his face.

A court case into the killing heard how Mr Skillin’s brain was dead before he hit the floor.

His mother Rebecca White decided to share the CCTV as they campaign for tougher sentences for one-punch killers.

The family are calling on the government to dish out jail terms that match murder convictions.

Boxer Sillence was found guilty of manslaughter and caged for just 10 years in December. Pictured: Mr Skillin on the ground after the attack

Boxer Sillence was found guilty of manslaughter and caged for just 10 years in December. Pictured: Mr Skillin on the ground after the attack

CCTV caught Brandon Sillence (left and right), 25, launching the vicious attack on Dean Skillin outside the Waverley Hotel in Bangor, Wales

CCTV caught Brandon Sillence (left and right), 25, launching the vicious attack on Dean Skillin outside the Waverley Hotel in Bangor, Wales

CCTV caught Brandon Sillence (left and right), 25, launching the vicious attack on Dean Skillin outside the Waverley Hotel in Bangor, Wales

Ms White said: ‘You can clearly see by the video that the police have released, that Brandon ”Coward” Sillence punched my son from behind.

‘Dean couldn’t even see it coming, it killed him instantly because he hit him that hard and forcefully.

‘What sort of coward hits someone from behind and leaves him on the floor, then walks away knowing the damage he had done.

‘How is this not an intentional act of violence to cause harm? To all that defended Brandon by saying it was a pub fight shame on all of you.’

She continued: ‘I wanted to put it out there that when my son was killed there was no fight or words exchanged between Dean and Brandon.’

Ms White added: ‘Dean couldn’t even see it coming, it killed him instantly because he hit him that hard and forcefully.’

Sillence was jailed for ten years after being found guilty of manslaughter but not guilty of murder. He also admitted assault causing actual bodily harm on Mr Lock.

The court heard in December the thug hit him then boasted: ‘It was just boom, boom.’

Sillence told police: ‘I just literally jabbed. I have gone ”boom, boom”. I just wanted them to f*** off. I was looking forward to going home to my bird, mate.’

The jury heard the yob had approached the pair before punching them both in quick succession. He was later arrested and told police he was protecting a friend. Pictured: The moment Sillence punched Mr Skillin

The jury heard the yob had approached the pair before punching them both in quick succession. He was later arrested and told police he was protecting a friend. Pictured: The moment Sillence punched Mr Skillin

Mother Rebecca White (pictured with her boy) decided to share the CCTV as they campaign for tougher sentences for one-punch killers

Mother Rebecca White (pictured with her boy) decided to share the CCTV as they campaign for tougher sentences for one-punch killers

The jury heard the yob had approached the pair before punching them both in quick succession. He was later arrested and told police he was protecting a friend.

He told Detective Constable Lee Harshey-Jones: ‘Two lads were ready to go for my mate, so I slapped them both.

‘It was just a warning. I wasn’t aggressive. I have not tried to hurt anybody. I’ve hit two people.

‘I punched then both to warn them….to back off. One fell down, the other one just stumbled. But Sillence insisted he had not intended to kill anyone.

He said: ‘I am not a bionic man. I have just moved my hand forward. I did not intend anyone to die. ‘

Prosecutor John Philpotts said Mr Skillin was brain dead before he hit the floor.

He said: ‘The punch struck Dean Skillin and fractured the vertebrae, damaging the vertebral artery with the bleeding compromising Dean Skillin’s brain stem and resulting in him being brain dead before he hit the ground.’

Mr Lock said he felt a blow to the left side of his jaw before he regained his senses and saw his cousin unconscious on the floor.

He said: ‘A man was looking at me very aggressively. He said ”you think you’re big boys”. ‘

Caernarfon Crown Court heard a nearby police officer heard an ‘an awful, hollow thud’ as up to 40 people were leaving the pub.

They had been drinking at The Waverley pub in Bangor, North Wales, (pictured) when Sillence launched the attack 'without provocation'

They had been drinking at The Waverley pub in Bangor, North Wales, (pictured) when Sillence launched the attack ‘without provocation’

Ms White set up a petition (pictured), which has been signed by more than 18,000 people

Pictured: Most of the signatories have come from North Wales

Ms White set up a petition (left), which has been signed by more than 18,000 people. Right: Most of the signatories have come from North Wales

Paramedics rushed Mr Skillin to hospital where a CT showed a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. He died the next morning.

A post mortem revealed the blow had caused his skull to rotate ‘rapidly and violently’ on the top of the spine.

The court heard the violence erupted outside the pub in September 2020 after Sillence had been acting ‘aggressively.’

In a victim impact statement Mr Skillin’s father Harry said his son ‘didn’t have a bad bone in his body. He truly was the perfect son in every way.’

He said: ‘He was a lovely lad and an innocent boy.’

Ms White said her son had been ‘a strapping 6 ft 2in young man but was now in a box smaller than a shoe box in the living room.’

She said that she feels ‘anger beyond the anger experienced by other people’.

Judge Geraint Walters described Sillence as ‘aggressive, confrontational’ and being ‘the big I am’ on the night of the killing.

He said: ‘It was not a warning slap but a forceful punch by a man skilled in punching who knew the kind of damage that you we’re capable of should you chose to inflict it.’

Labour MP for South Shields Emma Lewell-Buck, who is on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for one punch assaults, told MailOnline: ‘I can’t even begin to comprehend the pain Dean’s family and loved ones are going through.

‘I have been involved with the One Punch UK charity for a number of years now, set up by my constituent Maxine Thompson Curl and her husband Anthony Curl after Maxine’s boy Kristian died from a one punch attack in 2011.

‘These attacks kill, yet the sentences handed down are pitiful.

‘Australia and Canada have one punch laws that impose minimum sentences for perpetrators yet successive Tory Governments refuse to do the same here, despite repeatedly being asked to do so.’

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