Murder accused 'had no excuse' for fatal punch

Murder accused 'had no excuse' for fatal punch Wed, November 11, 2026 at 7:34 PM UTC

A man accused of murder after fatally punching a pub owner said he had no excuse for the attack and did not know what came over him.

Billy Allison, 36, has denied murdering Matthew O'Gara at the Ricco and Loren bar in Lichfield on 24 May, but admitted manslaughter.

Stafford Crown Court heard he did not intend to seriously injure O'Gara when he delivered a punch with "significant force" to the 44-year-old's neck, causing two broken bones and a split artery.

The defendant, of Shirley, Solihull, has also admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm against O'Gara's friend Adam Cooper during the incident.

Pub boss Matthew O'Gara died two days after being punched

Footage of the assault on O'Gara, who died in hospital two days later, was played on Wednesday during the trial, and Allison was seen in court holding a tissue and looking at the floor.

When questioned by defence barrister Gurdeep Garcha KC, Allison accepted he used "very significant force", though he said it was not deliberate.

Prosecutors previously said O'Gara, who ran The Plough pub in Huddlesford, Staffordshire, was "completely oblivious" to the impending punch as he danced with friends with his back to the defendant.

Asked to tell the jury why he took two steps over to O'Gara, Allison said: "I don't know what came over me."

He accepted he was drunk, having been drinking in Lichfield since about 15:40 BST, and the defence argued it might have had a "bearing on your appreciation of the force you were using".

He had also taken a "small amount" of cocaine, Allison told the court.

He denied being angry or losing his temper before punching O'Gara and then Cooper, adding that he could not remember what emotion he was feeling at the time.

When he was asked if he realised how much power he put into the punch and if he intended to "break bones in his [O'Gara's] neck structures", Allison said no.

Garcha said: "You accept you had no excuse for punching either man? They did nothing to provoke you?"

"No," Allison replied.

The attack happened at the Ricco and Loren bar in Lichfield

The defendant told the court he had not noticed O'Gara before the attack and did not think anyone was staring at him.

He said he had not been aware of an interaction between O'Gara and Allison's friend Ryan Bridge, in which the victim had reached out to shake Bridge's hand as he arrived on the dance floor.

Prosecuting, Timothy Hannam asked Allison if Bridge appeared to "roll his eyes" after the interaction with Mr O'Gara, and asked him if the handshake was "unwelcome".

"You would have to ask him yourself," Allison said.

Hannam also asked about "exchanges" Allison and Bridge appeared to have seconds before the attack but Allison said he could not recall what they were talking about.

"Mr Bridge didn't react at all when you went in for the blows, he watched that calmly, didn't he?" Hannam asked, to which the defendant replied yes.

Allison disagreed when Mr Hannam said Bridge "barely reacted" to the attack, telling the barrister he'd looked shocked.

'Average boxer'

Allison was also asked about his boxing ability after jurors were shown social media footage of past bouts he had taken part in and won.

He said they were white-collar boxing events to raise money for charities, not professional fights, and described himself as an "average boxer".

The defendant said he had never been taught the neck was a "vulnerable and sensitive" part of the body.

"The only rules you get told are to not punch below the belt or the back of the head," he told the jury.

Allison described the incident as a "moment of madness" when he was cross-examined by prosecuting barrister Timothy Hannam KC.

Asked why he punched O'Gara as hard as he did, the defendant said: "I just don't have an explanation for why… I had a bit of a sense I was being looked at, in my drunken state, maybe I was a touch paranoid.

"I didn't intentionally punch him that hard."

'Let them down'

The jury was shown footage of the moment Allison was told in his police cell that O'Gara had died and he was being arrested on suspicion of murder.

The video showed him putting his head in his arms as he was sitting on the bed.

Allison said he was "devastated" and had told his partner Charlotte Dean in a phone call from the station that he was sorry.

When Garcha asked him who he was sorry for, the defendant replied: "[O'Gara] and his family, and also my family. I felt like I had let them down."

He said he felt "ashamed", adding: "I can't express how sorry I am to everyone who has been affected by it."

The trial continues.

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