A nightclub reveller who murdered a rugby player of “exceptional qualities” and injured four other people with a knife has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 28 years in prison.
Jake Hill, 25, stabbed five people in around 20 seconds outside the Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin, Cornwall, with a serrated hunting knife that he had hidden in a nearby hedge.
Michael Riddiough-Allen, 32, who was the fifth person to be stabbed, suffered a fatal wound to his abdomen after trying to intervene to help others. He died at the scene.
Mrs Justice Cutts told Hill that the death of Mr Riddiough-Allen and the injuries caused to four others in the early hours of April 30 last year were due to Hill’s decision to carry a knife that night.
She paid tribute to Mr Riddiough-Allen, describing “man of exceptional qualities”.
The judge sentenced Hill to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 28 years for the murder of Mr Riddiough-Allen and four counts of Section 18 wounding with intent.
Tia Taylor, 22, who attacked Mr Riddiough-Allen as he lay injured on the ground, received a three-year prison sentence for manslaughter and perverting the course of justice.
Chelsea Powell, 23, was jailed for 15 months for perverting the course of justice by lying to police following the incident.
During the trial, Truro Crown Court heard that Hill joined a fight between 15 revellers outside the club shortly after 3am on 30 April last year.
A disturbance broke out between groups of people in the street after the venue closed.
Victims were either stabbed or slashed in the melee by Hill who had collected the blade from a nearby hedge where he had hidden it prior to entering the nightclub.
Powell and Taylor both deliberately lied to frustrate the police in their investigation.
Hill was found hiding in the loft at Taylor’s address following the stabbing – after she told officers nobody else was home.
Powell, 22, of Granny’s Green, Bodmin was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter. She was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Taylor, 22, of Northey Road, Bodmin admitted charges during the trial of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice.
After all three were found guilty, Emma Norrish, detective constable of Devon & Cornwall Police, said: “We welcome the verdict reached by the jury after hearing the evidence and deliberating on their decisions.
“This has been a long and complex investigation and trial and we now await the sentencing of the three defendants.
“I hope the outcome reached today will begin to bring some closure to Michael’s family and friends, and to the surviving victims.”
In a statement issued by police, Mr Riddiough-Allen’s family said they were campaigning against knife crime.
“The journey that has led us here from the night Michael died, though long and painful, has opened our eyes to the growing problem in our society,” they said.
“This journey has given us the purpose and motivation to try to make a difference.
“Whilst we are grateful for our justice system and its ability to uphold the laws of our society, today’s verdicts are not a victory. There are no winners here.
“It is not just our family who lost someone they loved that night.
“The families of Tia Taylor, Chelsea Powell and Jake Hill have been torn apart by the evil of that night – the presence of a knife.
“With no knife the devastating events of that night would not have happened.”