Man beaten to death with barbell in Gateshead block of flats
A man who admitted killing beating another man to death in Gateshead has been detained in a high-security hospital.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Evan Lyons brutally attacked Christopher Phillips as he was sleeping in a corridor at Tennyson Court in August 2023.
Christopher Phillips, 40, who was originally from the Berwick area of Northumberland, was found with serious head injuries at the block of flats, on Sunderland Road in Felling, on the morning of August 14, 2023.
Despite the efforts of emergency services, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Following Christopher’s death, a full investigation was launched and officers arrested a man in connection with the incident after their enquiries uncovered that the victim had been repeatedly struck with a barbell which caused his injuries. Evan Lyons was forensically linked to the barbell.
CCTV footage recovered from the area showed Lyons leaving the block of flats shortly after 7.00am on August 14, before briefly returning twice and then walking away from the area. He returned to Tennyson Court several hours later and was then arrested by officers.
Lyons was later charged with Christopher’s murder, which he initially denied.
In a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court in October last year, Lyons, now 28, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, which prosecutors accepted. The court heard that he had stopped taking prescribed medication for his paranoid schizophrenia and had been taking class A drugs and drinking alcohol before the killing.
On Friday (August 23), Lyons returned to the same court and was told he would be detained in a secure hospital until he is deemed safe for release.
Following the hearing, the Senior Investigating Officer in the case, Detective Superintendent Katie Smith, of Northumbria Police, said: “Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to Christopher’s family and loved ones for the courage and patience they have shown during the past two years.
“Christopher’s life was cruelly taken away in the most horrific way possible on August 14, 2023, and I hope that now Evan Lyons has been detained they are able to take some closure.”
Detective Superintendent Smith added: “Lyons’ actions on the morning that he attacked Christopher were completely senseless and have caused utter devastation to many people’s lives.
“There is never, ever an acceptable excuse for violence, and if anyone takes the decision to resort to it, you are playing with other people’s lives and futures – as well as your own.”