Man jailed for murdering pensioner at Manor House

A robber who murdered an 87-year-old man as he walked home with his shopping has been sentenced to a minimum sentence of 23 years.

The Old Bailey heard how Peter Augustine, 59, lost his temper during an attempt to take John Mackey’s handbag outside a Co-op store in Manor House, north London, on May 6.

Mackey, who lived in Finsbury Park but was originally from Ireland, died in hospital two days after the attack, in which he was kicked, punched and stomped.

Sentencing Augustine to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 23 years, Judge Whitehouse said he had killed a “gentle and innocent” man “over a box of cereal, a pint of milk and a saveloy sausage”.

He added: “I have no doubt that if this defendant was really hungry and had asked Mr Mackey for help, this kind and generous gentleman would have helped him.”

Mackey had lived in north London for 70 years and was well known locally for his trademark trilby hat, his close family relationships and his love of Arsenal FC.

On the day of the attack, he had bought some groceries at the supermarket and was walking home. He was frail and used a stick.

The court heard Augustine had been searching for victims and, upon seeing the 87-year-old man, crossed a busy street before following him for 15 minutes and then attacking him in a quiet location.

Witnesses to the minute-long attack described him shouting “give me the bag” as he punched and “stomped” on John Mackey.

Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC said there was “no need to use any violence”.

“I could have snatched that bag out of Mr. Mackey’s hand,” he told the court.

Instead, Augustine used “a staggering level of gratuitous violence,” he said, which was “totally unnecessary and, as witnesses observed, carried out with extreme anger.”

In handing down the sentence, the judge told the court that the murder was not the result of an attempt to steal the bag, but of Agustín’s anger.

The defendant, who was found guilty by a jury on November 13, was also sentenced to four weeks in prison for theft and eight years for robbery. The sentences will be served simultaneously.

During the trial, the judge took the rare step of excluding Agustín from the courtroom while he was giving testimony, due to his aggressive outbursts.

He refused to attend an appointment with a psychiatrist and meetings to discuss his case, and was absent from Friday’s sentencing hearing, citing a back problem.

The victim’s niece, Patricia Schan, told the court that the defendant had shown “complete disdain and disrespect towards the family.”

He described Mr Mackey as “the perfect guy”.

She said: “He was funny, charming, mysterious and definitely mischievous; he had never been seen without his trilby hat and was always impeccably dressed.

“He was always interested in our lives – taking us to see his beloved Arsenal and introducing some of us to the pubs around Manor House.”

She said she had never been happier than when she was with her extended Irish family and his murder had caused deep upset.