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A father-of-three who killed an innocent man and called him a ‘nonce’ for talking to a girl in the street has been jailed for life.

Steven Walton, 42, stamped and kicked Jason Lord, 50, to death in a vicious attack in Newcastle Upon Tyne on the evening of January 20.

A court heard how Mr Lord had learning difficulties, was ‘soft-hearted’ and posed ‘no threat to anyone’.

Mr Lord greeted the young girl as he passed her on his way home from having a few drinks.

Despite knowing the girl was unharmed, Walton took it upon himself to hunt down Mr Lord and attack him.

According to Judge Roger Thomas KC, throughout the attack Walton screamed at Mr Lord and called him a nonce and ‘a f****** dirty b******.’

He said Mr Lord died as a result of the sustained and extremely vicious kicking and stamping on his head.

He died quickly despite the speedy attendance of the paramedics at the scene.

The judge said: ‘You left your house intent on finding a man who you, on no evidence at all and without making any enquiry about that wild notion, deemed to be a paedophile, shouting ‘nonce’ at him as you attacked him and referring to him as ‘a f****** dirty b******’.

‘You were intent on using violence against him as you left the house to find him and immediately upon finding him you attacked him.

‘You acted as some sort of vigilante in taking the law into your own hands to mete out punishment upon Mr Lord who was in fact an entirely harmless and innocent man making his way home.

‘Mr Lord was particularly, and very obviously to you, vulnerable, being entirely defenceless as he lay prone on the ground and being somebody who was very intoxicated, learning disabled and with a weak heart.’

Ben Nolan KC, defending, said Walton is married with three children, one of whom has a serious health condition. 

Walton has a number of previous convictions, including for causing the death of three friends, aged 17, 16 and 14, who were passengers, by dangerous driving while showing off, in 1998, for which he was sent to a young offenders institution for four years.

Following his release, he racked up convictions for dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, assault, affray and possessing cannabis and has been to prison twice since the 1998 sentence.

Mr Nolan said Walton was 17 at the time of the death by dangerous driving offences.

Ally Allison, Mr Lord’s big sister, described her ‘loving relationship’ with her brother in a victim impact statement read out to the court.

She said: ‘My whole world changed forever when I heard the terrible news on Saturday January 21 that Jason had died. The news was made so much worse by the awful, violent way he met his death.

‘The knowledge I will never see Jason again is devastating. I’ve asked myself again and again why Jason died in this horrific way when he had done nothing wrong, when he had simply said hello to someone in the street.

‘Steven Walton took my brother from me for no reason. It hurts so much to realise that he was alive while Walton was kicking and stamping on him. I ask myself what was he thinking? Was he in pain?

‘Jason has been taken, wrenched from our lives but he will never be taken from our hearts.’

Ally is having to go through counselling to come to terms with the loss and his murder has ‘destroyed’ their mum’s life.

Mr Lord’s brother-in-law John Allison, said Mr Lord had moderate learning difficulties, struggled with day-to-day things like paying bills, ‘had the brain of a young child’ and was ‘vulnerable’.

He lived at supported accommodation where he received regular care support.

Walton, of The Crossway, Kenton, was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars.

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