Former bouncer in knife killing jailed for life

Ordering Brian Cox to serve a minimum of 18 years in prison, Mr Justice Foskett told him at Leeds Crown Court: “The repercussions of that moment of madness will be felt for many years to come.

“When you are released in due course you will have a life to lead and at least the opportunity of re-establishing contact with your son, that opportunity no longer exists for Mark Webb.”

Cox, 29, of Bede Avenue, York, was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of murdering Mr Webb, 40, of Cornlands Road, York, in a confrontation on March 4 outside a house in Stuart Road in the city.

At that time Cox was seeing Mr Webb’s estranged wife, Susan, and after she and her husband exchanged a series of “hateful” text messages and phone calls that afternoon Mr Webb, who had been drinking, arrived at the friend’s house she was visiting.

The judge said he accepted Cox “was not the architect of the confrontation” and went out initially to try and calm things down and get Mr Webb to go away, only to have the situation inflamed by Susan Webb shouting at her husband.

“I can only speculate in a misguided, immature and macho attempt to show Susan Webb that you would protect her you allowed yourself to be carried away by the moment.”

Having taken a craft knife with him, he slashed the other man’s jugular vein. Cox left the scene without summoning help for Mr Webb, who collapsed outside his former matrimonial home nearby in Middleton Road. “Reprehensible though that was, there were others present at the scene who should have taken greater responsibility in that regard.”

After he was jailed, Cox asked to speak and said he could understand Mr Webb’s family hating him: “I just want them to know I am deeply, deeply sorry for what I have done.”

The judge commended officers in the case, particularly Pc Simon Fennell who found Mr Webb and tried to resuscitate him after following a trail of blood when Susan Webb had reported only a domestic dispute.

She will be sentenced at a later date for two offences of intending to pervert the course of justice after washing blood from the scene and lying by claiming her husband’s injury was self-inflicted.

After the case Mr Webb’s mother, Dianna Atkinson, and his sister, Julie Twamley, said he was “devoted to his five children and our family’s grief has been intensified by the fact that we never got say to goodbye properly, due to Susan Webb’s lies that Mark had caused his own injury.

“During the initial days of the investigation, we were very concerned for Susan and the children. We now feel very angry that not only did she play a part in this incident but she lied throughout the investigation in support of Brian Cox.”

They thanked the police and all those who had supported them “during this traumatic period in our lives”.

Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway said the attack on Mr Webb was “vicious and brutal” with him left to die from his injuries, and added: “Cox is clearly a significant danger to the community and he must now face the consequences of this savage attack.”

He said Susan Webb’s actions trying to cover up what had happened and to frustrate the police investigation “were callous in the extreme”.