Martin Greensmith, 37, has been jailed for six years after being convicted of manslaughter. The incident occurred on Christmas Eve when Greensmith, who had never met his father, Steven Shevels, 61, encountered him for the first time at the Queen's Head pub in Willington, County Durham.
Greensmith's mother pointed out Mr. Shevels during a Christmas gathering, revealing he was Greensmith's father. The court heard that Greensmith initially stated, “You’re my dad but I don’t want to know you.” Following several exchanges, Greensmith went outside, with Mr. Shevels following him after being asked to leave the pub due to intoxication. A further argument led Greensmith to push Mr. Shevels forcefully, causing him to fall and strike his head on the concrete floor.
CCTV footage captured the push and Mr. Shevels' fall. A witness likened the sound to "dropping a coconut on concrete." Greensmith and others attempted to resuscitate Mr. Shevels, but he was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services after more than an hour of resuscitation efforts.
During his trial, Greensmith claimed he had used a "gentle push" in self-defense, a claim rejected by the jury. At Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Carroll stated that Greensmith had been "immediately angry and aggressive." The judge noted that Mr. Shevels had been drinking and was under the influence, and that Greensmith's reaction to the revelation of his paternity was visibly aggressive, as evidenced by CCTV footage.
Greensmith's defense counsel described him as "genuinely remorseful," and a pre-sentence report suggested Greensmith may have felt "overwhelmed" by the discovery. A victim impact statement from Mr. Shevels' daughter, Chloe Shevels, described her father as a "quiet and timid man" and expressed her dread of future Christmases due to his death on Christmas Eve, the news of which she learned through gossip while opening presents.
Mr. Shevels' sister, Angela Thompson, characterized the act as an "unprovoked and selfish act of violence" that took her brother's life prematurely, emphasizing the added pain of the event occurring on Christmas Eve.