THE wife of a newly-wed Merseyside policeman who was killed by a drunken punch has described how she has been left devastated by his death.
PC Neil Doyle, 36, died after he was struck with a “pile driver” punch while off duty on a Christmas night out in Liverpool on
December 19, 2014 with two other officers.
This week two men were found guilty of his manslaughter.
“No amount of justice will ever compensate for the loss of Neil and this is something that we as a family will have to live with every day for the rest of our lives,” said Sarah Doyle, the PC’s wife.
“I will never forgive them for what they have done. One punch was all it took to kill Neil and people should be aware of their actions whilst under the influence of drink and the devastating consequences and heartbreak that one punch can do.”
Timmy Donovan – also known as Timmy O’Sullivan, 30, of Walsingham Road, Childwall and Andrew Taylor, 29, of Cherry Tree Road, Huyton were also convicted of the serious assault of PC Robert Marshall.
Taylor was found guilty of the assault of a third officer, PC Michael Steventon. A third man, Christopher Spendlove, 30, of Brandearth Hey, Stockbridge Village was cleared of manslaughter.
All three defendants were cleared of the policeman’s murder after a five-week trial.
“Neil was killed on the streets that he lived to protect,” Mrs Doyle added in a statement released at the weekend. “The hard part is not over for us we now need to be able to come to terms with what has happened and be left in private to grieve.”
Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court heard the punch that killed PC Doyle left him staggering across the road before he ended up in a gutter. The confrontation happened when the two groups of men met in the Seel Street area of Liverpool just before 3am.
The court heard that PC Doyle was approached by Taylor who said, “Are you having a good evening, officer?”
A statement from Detective Superintendent Mike Shaw of Merseyside police said: “We welcome the verdicts, but ultimately nothing can bring Neil back and his family are still struggling to come to terms with his loss and will never get over his tragic death.
“Neil and his friends, who were all off duty police officers, were enjoying a Christmas night with colleagues on the night of the attack and the three defendants were also enjoying a night out.
“Taylor and Donovan, have also ruined their own lives. They were of previously good character and hadn’t been involved in criminality prior to that night.
“In fact, Taylor, had a promising career ahead of him in the sporting world. But their rash actions, following the consumption of large amounts of alcohol, have ruined what could have been a bright future and their families, are also now left to pick up the pieces.”
Speaking about the incident that led to the death of PC Doyle, Superintendent Shaw added: “CCTV footage shown to the jury shows that none of the officers offered any resistance when they were attacked and none of them hit back.
“Everything indicated that they were trying to diffuse the situation by walking away.”
Sentencing of Taylor and Donovan is scheduled to take place on September 11.
