A cocaine and steroid fuelled bodybuilder who killed a ‘warm-hearted and caring’ dad-of-two with a single blow in an unprovoked nightclub attack has been jailed for more than 11 years. 

Robert Owen Greenhalgh, 31, who called himself the ‘hardest c**t in the Northwest’, punched Robert Smethurst with the force of a ‘heavyweight boxer’ at the Luxe Lounge in Bolton. 

Mr Smethurst suffered a devastating brain injury before he even hit the floor and was declared dead around an hour later in the early hours of September 2 last year. 

Manchester Crown Court heard Greenhalgh puffed out his chest after the brutal attack and goaded: ‘Who else wants some?’ 

His victim’s heartbroken wife Amanda called Greenhalgh a ‘coward’ as she faced him in court, saying: ‘I was robbed of my husband, my best friend, my happiness, and my future all in one.’ 

She added: ‘How could someone be so violent and hateful towards my husband who did absolutely nothing to deserve this attack?  

‘The love for my husband is overwhelming proof of what an incredible man he is. I miss him more than words could ever describe.’ 

Greenhalgh pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for 11 years and three months. 

Judge Anthony Cross QC told him: ‘Not for one moment did you consider that which you had done, other than to glory in your achievement and invite others to attack you.’ 

The court heard Mr Smethurst, a company director for a firm in the aviation industry, was out with his cousin Aaron Bates in Bolton town centre celebrating both their birthdays. 

At one point earlier in the evening, he had accidentally stood on Greenhalgh’s foot but had apologised and there were no further problems.  

About 10 minutes prior to the fatal attack, the court heard there was some ‘innocent’ conversation between the two groups, but no trouble was apparent.  

Greenhalgh, who had taken cocaine before arriving at the club and was sitting in a booth, then suddenly got up, clapped his hands, and punched both Mr Smethurst and his cousin. 

Mr Bates was able to break his fall and suffered concussion. He had no memory of the attack. But Mr Smethurst suffered immediate brain trauma and was declared dead about an hour later. 

Even Greenhalgh’s friend said he was ‘totally shocked’ by what happened, as it was ‘so out of the blue’. 

The judge told him: ‘It is unsurprising not one single person including the door staff intervened, such was the terror you caused inside that club.’ 

Greenhalgh, known to friends and family as Owen, has no previous convictions but a police interrogation of his phone revealed a ‘predilection’ for violence.  

A former debt collector, he bragged that he had ‘knocked out’ three people on one occasion. 

He described himself as being ‘the hardest c*** in the Northwest’ and talked about punching someone while wearing a knuckleduster, prosecutor Rob Hall said.  

Police were unable to trace victims relating to the phone messages, but the judge said they were relevant in declaring him a ‘dangerous offender’. 

Greenhalgh also talked of using steroids to bulk up as he regularly visited the gym and bragged of his cocaine use.  

In messages he claimed to have used £50,000’s of the class A drug in six months. His relationship had broken down and he began living in hotels and friends. 

Family and friends tried to persuade him to kick his drug habit, and his mother issued a stark plea to her son in one message.  

She said: ‘Owen you should be ashamed of yourself. You are kidding yourself if you think this is going to end well. The only way this is going to end is death for you. 

‘You are so far gone now that you don’t even know what is right and wrong anymore, and for your information only idiots do what you are doing, not nice people. You lie, you cheat, you control with brute force, but you will die if you don’t stop. I’m done with you I’m afraid. It’s ok but you need help.’ 

Judge Cross said of the message: ‘She was wrong about one thing only. It would not be your death but the death of a wholly innocent man.’ 

Moving tributes were paid in court to Mr Smethurst, with his 13-year-old daughter describing him as being ‘warm hearted’, ‘caring’ and ‘fun’. 

He loved fishing and spending time with his family. He and his wife dreamed of taking early retirement in France, she said. His parents told of their pride at their ‘beautiful’ son. 

Defending, Michael Brady QC said Greenhalgh, of no fixed address, is remorseful and ashamed of his behaviour.  

He described Greenhalgh’s messages about his drug use and apparent violence as ‘unpleasant boasts’. 

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