Boy, 12, frozen with shock after witnessing ex-postman kill elderly neighbour after row over gate

A 12-year-old boy has described the terrifying moment he witnessed a former attacking his elderly after a heated row over a gate.

On Sunday October 6 last year Trevor Gocan punched and kicked 74-year-oldJames O'Neill before leaving him in a coma and on the floor at an estate where they both lived in central London, a court was told. Mr O'Neill did not recover from his injuries and died in two weeks later after his life support was withdrawn.

Southwark Crown Court heard 57-year-old Gocan had become involved in an argument with Mr O'Neill over 'shutting a gate' at the entrance to the Odhams Walk, opposite a store.

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Prosecutors said dad-of-two Gocan "struck out" at his elderly victim, sending him to the ground with an "obviously bleeding" wound to his head. The defendant - whose initial charge of GBH was upgraded to following Mr O'Neill's passing - did not dispute that his actions caused the pensioner's death, but denied murder.

On Thursday, May 1, a jury of ten women and two men found Gocan unanimously guilty of Mr O'Neill's manslaughter but cleared him of murder after around four hours of deliberation. Former Royal Mail worker Gocan had claimed he was "scared" by "very angry" Mr O'Neill, known to his family as Jim, and only pushed and kicked him in retaliation after feeling threatened.

Jurors were shown police body-worn footage of the moments a calm-looking Gocan was arrested last October, as well as footage of him buying a hot drink and a sandwich at a local Pret a Manger store shortly before his attack.

Prosecutor Lisa Wilding KC said: "Trevor Gocan and James O'Neill, the man who died, were neighbours - although they didn't know it. Both of them lived in flats in a small estate in central London called Odhams Walk, just off Long Acre, the central road that runs east to west through Covent Garden.

"It was October 6 last year that Trevor Gocan and James O'Neill - known as Jim - encountered each other at the entrance gate to the estate. An argument started - probably about shutting a gate - and it descended to violence.

"The violence was delivered by this defendant. He punched and kicked at Mr O'Neill, who was immediately sent to the ground with an obviously bleeding head wound. The defendant walked away and left Mr O'Neill on the ground. He punched with such significant force to dislodge a tooth and kicked him."

The trial also heard evidence from a 12-year-old boy - visiting the capital with his family for his birthday - who described being frozen with shock after witnessing Gocan deliver a hard kick to Mr O'Neill's stomach as he lay on the ground.

Gocan claimed he had returned to his flat after the scuffle with Mr O'Neill to feed his cat. He admitted having looked out of the window of his flat to check on his alleged victim and claimed he began calling an ambulance, before hearing a woman outside tell Mr O'Neill she had called one.

Ms Wilding told the court: "From that incident, Jim O'Neill suffered catastrophic head injuries from falling to the ground. You took the trouble to put your food down. That would have been the perfect opportunity to take out your key, open your front door and walk inside with your hot drink and sandwich.

"If you would have walked through your door, that would have been the end. Why didn't you do that? I wish I had done," Gocan replied. The answer is you were looking for a fight, weren't you?

"All of this is a story you have put together to explain away the evidence. Four members of one family and a security guard were troubled enough by what they had seen and heard to leave Zara and try desperately to help Jim O'Neill. You, on the other hand, hid inside your flat. Jim O'Neill was never a physical threat to you. You may have been arguing, he may have been unpleasant, but he was not a physical threat."

Gocan will be sentenced in July at Southwark Crown Court.