Vigilante jailed for beating sick man he wrongly thought was a paedophile to death
A UK vigilante has been jailed for the "despicable" beating of a man to death while he was on a dialysis machine that he incorrectly accused of being a paedophile.
Acting on an "unfounded" accusation, Adam Goodridge arrived at Paul Sandford's South Yorkshire home on October 30, 2015.
The 31-year-old repeatedly punched the man before taking photos of the injuries, the BBC reports.
He ordered his victim's friends to tell paramedics he had fallen in the bath.
The 38-year-old Sanford was left with bleeding on the brain, a fractured eye socket and several bruises and scratches to his face and hands.
He died in hospital five days later.
South Yorkshire Police said the attack was "despicable" and the allegations of paedophilia "unfounded".
Goodridge had visited the home a week before the attack to tell Mr Sanford to "move from the area within a week".
During the attack, detective inspector Simon Palmer said Goodridge "briefly left the room and even had the audacity to say that he would buy Mr Sandford's friends a beer, before returning to the room to continue his attack".
"He told Mr Sandford's friends to tell ambulance staff that he had fallen in the bath, but when emergency services arrived it was clear that his injuries has been caused by this unprovoked, cowardly and brutal attack," the detective said.
Goodridge was sentenced to 12 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in the Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.
A statement from Mr Sanford's family said there was a "gaping hole in our hearts that is never going to heal".
"From the age of eight, Paul had suffered from ongoing health problems and the indescribable actions of Goodridge on that night have robbed us of the precious time we had left with him," the statement said.
"We should be making lasting, happy memories with him right now, but instead we are left with the utter devastation of having our son, brother and a friend taken away from us."
