Sheffield burglar who killed his victim gets life jail term

Wayne Muirhead, of Batemoor Road, Sheffield, was found guilty of manslaughter and robbery over the death of 61-year-old Stephen Starkey in 2014.

After being found guilty at a trial at Sheffield Crown Court last December, Muirhead was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of ten years.

Muirhead forced entry into Mr Starkey’s home on Reney Crescent in Lowedges, at around 10.30am on December 25 2014, seriously assaulting him and stealing £1,500 in cash, a mobile phone and a Playstation.

Mr Starkey was taken to hospital with serious injuries where he died five days later.

Detectives arrested Muirhead a couple of days after the robbery when the phone he had stolen from Mr Starkey was recovered and officers traced the calls and text messages made from the phone back to Muirhead.

As part of the investigation, detectives were also able to link Muirhead to a previous robbery against Mr Starkey, again in his own home on Saturday 7 November 2014, where he stole £280 in cash and another mobile phone.

Speaking after the sentencing, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Richard Partridge of South Yorkshire Police said: “Muirhead preyed on a quiet, calm man who kept to himself. Muirhead has shown no remorse for his actions and the fact he attacked Mr Starkey on Christmas Day is appalling, something I simply can’t understand.

“The significant sentence handed to him at court reflects the gravity of his despicable crimes.

“This crime shocked the local community and devastated Mr Starkey’s family, so I hope what happened at court yesterday offers them some small reassurance that this wicked man is behind bars for a long time, where he can harm nobody else.”