A brutal and "cowardly" killer who savagely attacked a father and son in a Hull park has been jailed for nine years after being branded a dangerous offender.
Lance Kinsley was on licence at the time after being released early from a six-year custodial sentence for his involvement in a violent assault on a pensioner.
He was convicted of the manslaughter of Hull man Christopher King, who died in hospital two weeks after being attacked.
"Aggressive" troublemaker Kinsley set upon the two men in "completely unwarranted and unprovoked" beatings. He used clenched fists and had "an angry mean stare" when he punched 53-year-old Mr King in a vicious attack that led to the victim falling heavily on the ground and suffering serious injuries, Hull Crown Court heard.
He was "gunning for" the two men and a witness claimed that he looked like a "predator" standing over his prey after the incident.
Kinsley, 22, of Spring Bank, Hull, denied murdering Mr King, who died on June 26 last year following an incident on June 12 of that year, and he was cleared by a jury after a trial. He was convicted of manslaughter.
Kinsley had earlier admitted manslaughter but the prosecution did not accept his plea to that lesser charge. He admitted assaulting Mr King's son. Sentence had been adjourned for a report to assess Kinsley's dangerousness.
Kinsley, wearing a black T-shirt, will be on extended licence of two years after his release from prison. He showed no emotion and rubbed his hands as he was led out of the secure dock to be taken down to the cells.
He muttered "Love you" to supporters in the public gallery and there was a reply of "Love you." Some in the gallery repeatedly swore and shouted "F***ing bu*****t" before storming out of the courtroom.
Deputy circuit judge Roger Thomas KC told Kinsley that it was a "violent and unprovoked attack" upon two men. The death of Mr King, after he suffered a brain injury, had caused a "very considerable effect on his large and close family".
Kinsley was a dangerous offender and he would have to serve at least two-thirds of the nine-year sentence before the Parole Board could consider his release.
Kinsley came up behind the two men before attacking both of them, causing Mr King to fall heavily and hit his head on the path, knocking him unconscious and causing brain injuries and three fractured ribs.
"You ran into the park, fully intending to physically attack them and you did just that," said the deputy circuit judge.
"This was a cowardly and unprovoked attack on a father and son, who were simply making their way home after a pleasant afternoon together in the city centre.
This was a vicious, unprovoked and sustained attack on two defenceless men."
The court heard that Kinsley was aged 18 when he was locked up for six years at Hull Crown Court in September 2000 for aggravated burglary and being carried in a vehicle that was taken without consent. He was aged 17 at the time of the offences.
During that incident, Kinsley and other males broke into the house of an elderly couple. The 74-year-old man living there was assaulted by one of the intruders in a serious attack involving an iron bar.
The man suffered cuts and bruises to his arms, legs and head and he was in hospital for a couple of days. Kinsley claimed that he stayed at the bottom of the stairs and was not directly involved in assaulting anyone.
Kinsley was released from that sentence on licence – but he went on to commit the manslaughter while on licence. He had been recalled to custody on the six-year sentence and this did not expire until January 2026.
Kinsley was aged 14 when he was dealt with by the youth court for threatening behaviour in November 2016. In February 2018, he was 15 when he was sentenced for racially aggravated assault. In June 2018, he was 16 when he was sentenced for two offences of assault as well as dishonesty offences.
Mark McKone KC, mitigating, said that Kinsley had suffered a difficult upbringing and he was essentially without a mother or a father while he was growing up. He did not have a role model in his life.
"That must have had some impact on his thinking throughout life," said Mr McKone. "The jury have accepted that Lance Kinsley did not intend to cause really serious harm." The manslaughter conviction by the jury must have been on the basis of a single punch being thrown by Kinsley, claimed Mr McKone.
There were now some signs of maturity in Kinsley and he had shown remorse during a probation service interview. He had a mature approach to the impact of his actions on others and he really appreciated the impact of the death of Mr King on the family of the victim. Kinsley had been in custody for about 15 months.
Stephen Wood KC, prosecuting, told the trial that Mr King and his son met at the home of the son's partner in Hull on June 12 last year. They visited several pubs over the next few hours but they had not drunk a large amount of alcohol.
Mr King had drunk four pints of lager or bitter and three measures of Jack Daniels and Coke. They went to the son's partner's flat at about 7.25pm. Their route took them across Spring Bank and up Vane Street.
They went into a nearby park off Vane Street and they walked through it towards a little hill. Moments later, Mr King and his son were subjected to an "unprovoked attack" by Kinsley.
Mr King's son was "blindsided" by the person who launched the attack. The son was attacked by Kinsley, who was said to have attacked him from behind and punched him to the left side of his face, knocking him to the ground.
The son suffered a cut lip, caused by a tooth going through it. "He told the police that he then saw his attacker set upon his father, punching him twice in quick succession, again apparently from behind," said Mr Wood.
"These blows were delivered with sufficient force that they caused Mr King to fall heavily to the ground." The son believed that his father was knocked unconscious after the second blow because of the way that he fell to the ground.
"Their attacker then turned and jogged away from them, heading back towards the corner of the park on Vane Street, opposite Planet Gym," said Mr Wood.
The son was not aware that their attacker said anything at any point during the assault but he described the man as "looking really aggressive, with clenched fists and an angry mean stare" during the incident.
"The attack upon the two men was completely unwarranted and unprovoked," claimed Mr Wood.
The assault was witnessed by a woman, who was walking home through the park. She claimed that Kinsley was "gunning for them" but that they were oblivious to him. He approached them aggressively before launching an unprovoked attack on them.
She saw Mr King fall to the ground like a dead weight and hit his head on the concrete path that they been walking along. "She described the attacker then flaring his shoulders, like a predator standing over his victim," said Mr Wood. "But he had not finished."
The woman claimed that Kinsley turned his attention to Mr King's son and that he was still "apparently enraged". He punched the son a couple of times in the face, knocking him to the ground as well and continuing to punch him.
The woman claimed that Kinsley returned to Mr King, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and in "an entirely unnecessary and gratuitous act of violence", delivered a further blow to the upper part of his body.
Two men arrived on the scene and one of them telephoned for an ambulance. It arrived at 7.39pm and it took Mr King to hospital. CCTV footage was obtained by police and it showed a grey Ford Fiesta pulling up in Vane Street. It was discovered that Kinsley and his girlfriend used this car.
Kinsley was arrested at an address in Windsor Avenue, Hull, where he was with his girlfriend. He had injuries, including a cut to a knuckle, said to have been caused during the attacks on the two men.
He made no comment during police interview. Mr King died on June 26 last year.
