A Sunderland man has been jailed for life after he murdered a father of three in Millfield.
Adrian Wright was a guest in the home where Allen Adeyemi Tejan had been staying when he launched a sickening and sustained attack with the weapon and tried to smother him with a pillow.
Newcastle Crown Court the “inexplicable” violence may have been triggered by Wright feeling disrespected hours earlier.
As Wright, 53, was told he must serve a minimum of 18 years and four months of a life sentence, 40-year-old Allen’s family told of their heartbreak, with his mum describing his murder as “one long nightmare”.
Jamie Hill KC, prosecuting, told the court Allen was originally from Sierra Leone in Africa but lived and worked in the UK for most of his life. His home was in south London but he had been staying in Sunderland to look for work at the time of the killing in April this year.
He had been staying with a friend, who was the ex partner of his pal. In the lead up to April 24, the woman had been messaging a man who was friends with Wright. She agreed to let the man travel to visit her and stay at her home and he said Wright would be coming too as he would drive him from Leeds.
On the night before the killing, a total of five people had been socialising at the woman’s home on Lily Street, Sunderland. Mr Hill said there was “no evidence of any serious trouble during the evening” but one man who was there describe Wright as “almost lecturing him and giving him what he described as life lessons and questioning his use of cannabis”.
Mr Hill added that Wright also appeared to be getting irritated by Allen, who was dancing and ignored Wright’s attempts to speak to him. Mr Hill said: “The inference is the defendant was the most senior person there in terms of age and thought he had been disrespected by Mr Tejan.”
Passing sentence, Judge Paul Sloan KC told Wright: “For some inexplicable reason, at about 8am, you determined to attack Mr Tejan. You put on gloves, you found an extendable baton, the extendable shaft being made of metal and you made your way upstairs to the bedroom occupied by Mr Tejan. He was lying in bed under the covers and you launched a vicious attack upon him.”
The judge added that Mr Tejan was a “loving and much-loved” man with a “zest for life and for his family”. He said: “As a result of your actions, his young daughters are now without a father and his mother finds herself heartbroken and living a nightmare.
Judge Sloan continued: “The attack on a man as he lay in bed was repeated and sustained. It was also particularly brutal, involving the use of a weapon to batter the deceased’s face and head before trying to smother him with a pillow.
“Mr Tejan was conscious during a significant part of the attack. As well as being terrified he will have suffered excruciating pain while still conscious.”
Liam Walker KC, defending, said the offence happened after Wright had consumed a large amount of alcohol.