Man dies after drunken fight with brother
A man died after a drunken fight with his brother at a motocross event, a court has heard.
Ben Starr, 34, inflicted a single fatal blow to his brother Lee in Swindon in August last year.
Lee Starr, who was in his 30s, suffered a fatal head injury at the Foxhill motocross event in Upper Wanborough and died later in hospital.
Bristol Crown Court heard his brother was initially charged with grievous bodily harm with intent but was later charged with murder and manslaughter.
After asking for a 'Goodyear Indication' from a judge – an indication of the maximum sentence he could receive – Ben Starr pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was accepted.
The brothers' father, who witnessed the brawl, said Lee had landed two punches before the pair ended up wrestling on the ground.
Eyewitnesses said after the pair separated, Lee directed a punch and a kick at his brother.
The defendant said the strikes had made a connection but witnesses contest this account.
It was then that Ben threw a final fatal punch.
'Intoxicated at the relevant time'
Sam Jones, defending, said: 'It is a tragic case not least because those who have attended in support of the defendant today are those who have been so affected by the consequence of the alleged incident.
'Both the defendant and his brother were intoxicated at the relevant time.'
Mr Jones said medical experts were not able to determine the level of force used when the defendant punched his brother, but noted that the punch caused bruising to Lee's jaw without fracturing the bone.
'A punch of moderate force, possibly a moderately forceful punch, could have generated the reaction of Lee's head in response to being punched which then triggered the fatal injury,' he said.
Robin Shellard, prosecuting, said the guilty plea to manslaughter was acceptable.
'We accept of course this was a fight between two brothers,' he said.
'Lee certainly called his brother out, they wrestled on the floor and there were blows made by Lee towards Ben and vice versa.
'The two independent witnesses say that the fight had finished by that stage, so self-defence didn't arise.
'It was in the context of that, that it was a blow out of anger or indeed another reason but certainly not self-defence.'
Starr, of Ripley, Derbyshire, was released on conditional bail by Judge Peter Blair KC, the Recorder of Bristol, until he is sentenced on June 26.
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