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| Two men admit banker manslaughter | Two men admit banker manslaughter |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Two men have pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a banker who died after an attack in Norwich. | Two men have pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a banker who died after an attack in Norwich. |
| Frank McGarahan, 45, of Hertfordshire, was an executive at Barclays Wealth and died in hospital the day after the attack on 28 September 2008. | Frank McGarahan, 45, of Hertfordshire, was an executive at Barclays Wealth and died in hospital the day after the attack on 28 September 2008. |
| Brothers Tom and Ben Cowles, aged 21 and 20, of Beaumont Road, Costessey, near Norwich, appeared at the city's crown court. | Brothers Tom and Ben Cowles, aged 21 and 20, of Beaumont Road, Costessey, near Norwich, appeared at the city's crown court. |
| Both also admitted affray, and Ben Cowles admitted a charge of assault. | |
| They had pleaded not guilty to murder at a previous hearing. | They had pleaded not guilty to murder at a previous hearing. |
| Prosecutor Mark Dennis QC said Mr McGarahan, his cousin and brother, had witnessed an assault on another man in central Norwich at about 0300 BST. | |
| 'Unnecessary attack' | |
| Mr Dennis said they stepped in to help and were then attacked. | |
| He said Mr McGarahan was knocked to the floor after being punched in the head and put in a headlock. | |
| The father-of-two lapsed into a coma and did not recover. | |
| "Both young men took part in an unnecessary and joint attack on Frank McGarahan, his brother and cousin," said Mr Dennis. | |
| "In the circumstances we submit (they) bravely intervened when many others would have stepped back." | |
| The judge, Mr Justice Saunders, told the court he thought the prosecution's decision to accept a guilty plea to manslaughter was "sensible and appropriate". | |
| But he understood how the decision to accept the plea would have been difficult for prosecution lawyers and for Mr McGarahan's family. | |
| Mr McGarahan's brother, Tony, was in court to hear the pleas entered and the evidence outlined. |