Two men jailed for manslaughter after killing man in Wythenshawe last year

Daniel Vesey (16/01/1984), of Farncombe Close, Wythenshawe, and Jason Trueman (02/03/1985), of Maybury Street, Gorton, had earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a section 18 wounding in a hearing at Manchester Crown Court.

Today, Vesey received an extended sentence of 19 years and six months, while Trueman received an extended sentence of 18 years and 10 months.

The court heard how on the afternoon of Friday 14 June, James Thorne collapsed in a store on Altrincham Road, Wythenshawe, disclosing that he had been attacked earlier that morning.

He was given first aid by staff and an ambulance soon arrived to rush him to hospital with serious injuries.

An investigation soon determined that earlier that day, Vesey and Trueman had visited James at Crowhurst Walk.

In a period of approximately ten minutes, the pair attacked James, causing significant head injuries. Following his collapse in the store, James was taken to hospital where he remained in intensive care.

Sadly, he died from his injuries on 1 July, aged 52.

CCTV footage and witness statements from the scene were able to identify Vesey and Trueman as having entered James’ home and attacking him. They were charged in the weeks following his death.

Following James’ death, a spokesperson for his family said:

James was a loving son, father, grandfather, brother & uncle. He was also a very good friend to a lot of people, we are all devastated by his loss, he will be sadly missed by many.

James’s family would like to thank everyone for their compassion, kind words and their huge amount of support through this extremely difficult time, it has helped us more than you can imagine.

James will always have a special place in all our hearts.

Senior investigating officer Duncan Thorpe said: 

Firstly, I want to say that our thoughts remain with the family of James. We know that the last few months have been incredibly difficult for them and I hope that today’s sentencing provides them with some form of closure.

Vesey and Trueman’s are dangerous individuals who have threatened and bullied vulnerable people in the Wythenshawe area for some time. Their violent actions have resulted in James death. Regardless of intent, their actions have left family and friends devastated.