THE YOUTH jailed for the manslaughter of Nigel Shakespeare is set to stand trial again after his original conviction was overturned.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sent to a youth detention unit for up to four years in February after being found guilty of attacking the biker, known as Shaggy to his friends and family.
Lord Justice Pitchford and Mr Justice Stewart, sitting as the Court of Appeal, made the decision towards the end of last month to order a retrial although the reasons for this will not be made public until that has been completed.
It means the youth will now be tried for a second time on a manslaughter charge and has been released from the detention unit awaiting the outcome.
A plea and case management hearing, which will determine future court dates and give the defendant the opportunity to enter a plea, will take place on Tuesday (December 16) at Worcester Crown Court.
While the teenager is awaiting trial, he has been bailed to an address in the county with a curfew between 10pm and 8am. He is not allowed to enter Redditch or contact any prosecution witness.
The incident, for which 18-year-old Adam Haylor – formerly of Bushley Close – was also jailed for assault by actual bodily harm, occurred on February 24 last year when 50-year-old Mr Shakespeare was walking home through Lakeside after a night out at the Kings Arms pub.
Emergency services took Mr Shakespeare to the Alexandra Hospital and then to University Hospital Coventry but he passed away later that day.
At the time of his original trial, defence solicitor Jonas Hankin QC said the teenager, who was 17 when the incident occurred, had no previous convictions, was of good character and had previously tried to act as a peace maker.
Following the sentencing, Mr Shakespeare’s sister Fran Shakespeare and partner Jacqueline Cull said he was a happy, loving and generous person.
“His death has come as a shock and has devastated not only all of us but a lot of others as well, including his many friends. It’s something we will never recover from.”
