Jacob Dunne has opened up about the moment the police came knocking after he accidentally killed a man with one punch on a night out. Watch below as he explains what went down:
When he was younger, Jacob lived a life of selling drugs and starting fights.
However, back in 2011, the 19-year-old struck a deadly blow to a man on a night out, who never got back up.
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“I was out with my friends on a night out. It was one of my friends' 18th birthdays,” Jacob told LADbible TV.
“And we were just out all day drinking, just another weekend out, really."
As the night continued, a drunk Jacob got separated from his friends up until they gave him a call to say they were having some sort of altercation with another group.
After finding out where his mates were, Jacob recalled: “And so I went running down to the scene and didn't ask my friend, ‘What's going on? Why are you lot gettin' into an altercation for? Why are you lot causing drama?’ Or try and deescalate the situation and to tell 'em to keep movin' on.
“Sadly took it upon myself to get involved and I threw a punch at the guy that my mate was arguing with.
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“And he fell on the floor.”
As one month passed by, Jacob had just come back from holiday when his friends had informed him that his name had been given to police.
Jacob was then told by police that 28-year-old trainee paramedic James Hodgkinson, the man he had hit, had died after spending nine days in a coma.
Jacob was sentenced to 30 months in jail, of which he served 14.
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Recalling how he felt at the time, Jacob said: “A mixture of every unpleasant emotion combined. Shock, disbelief, self-pity.
“And I guess at that time, I also felt unfortunate. I felt like I was...‘why has this happened to me?’
“Out of everybody that goes around throwing punches why did mine have to have the impact that it did?
“Yeah, everything just kind of flashed through my eyes, really, and I didn’t.
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“In the end I just became numb and just blanked it all out.
“My mum was... the best way to describe it is hysterical. She just kept crying about the pain that the other person's mum would be feeling.
“And I found that really difficult to even try and think about.”
Jacob has since spoke with James' parents, who have helped him reform.
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He said: “You know, I was told by the parents that James was the type of person where he'd want me to make something of my life and amount to something positive.
“That helped me try to believe in myself a little bit more.
“Because I knew I wouldn't be able to achieve anything if I was just stuck in the guilt and shame of what I'd done.
“And that's when they asked me, you know, ‘What is it that you're gonna actually do with your life, Jacob?’
“I didn't even want to say the word 'sorry'. I said, you know, I felt like it would be an insult to say the word 'sorry'.
“I wanna prove to you through my actions that I actually am sorry.
“And then, you know, that's when he says, ‘Well, okay, well what are you gonna do?’
“And so I said I'll give GCSEs another shot at 21 years old and smashed it.”
As well as completing his GCSE's, Jacob now puts on educational workshops while providing resources for people in schools and prisons.
Although he doesn't expect forgiveness from James' family, he remains on a journey to forgive himself.
Topics: True Crime, Crime, UK News
Anish Vij