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| Man found guilty of killing church organist on Christmas Eve | Man found guilty of killing church organist on Christmas Eve |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| The widow of a 68-year-old church organist, who was attacked on his way to midnight mass on Christmas Eve, said she would pray for his killers, after a man was found guilty on Thursday of his manslaughter. | |
| Alan Greaves died of head injuries, on 27 December 2012, days after the attack. He was beaten in the street with a pickaxe handle and another unidentified weapon near his home in High Green, Sheffield. | Alan Greaves died of head injuries, on 27 December 2012, days after the attack. He was beaten in the street with a pickaxe handle and another unidentified weapon near his home in High Green, Sheffield. |
| Police described the incident as a "appalling, extremely violent and totally unprovoked attack". | Police described the incident as a "appalling, extremely violent and totally unprovoked attack". |
| A jury at Sheffield crown court convicted Ashley Foster, 22, of manslaughter. In June, Jonathan Bowling, 22, had pleaded guilty to Greaves's murder. They will be sentenced on Friday. | A jury at Sheffield crown court convicted Ashley Foster, 22, of manslaughter. In June, Jonathan Bowling, 22, had pleaded guilty to Greaves's murder. They will be sentenced on Friday. |
| On Christmas Eve last year, Greaves left home for St Saviour's church, a short walk from his home, at about 11pm. He was due to play the organ at mass, an activity he had enjoyed over 40 years. | On Christmas Eve last year, Greaves left home for St Saviour's church, a short walk from his home, at about 11pm. He was due to play the organ at mass, an activity he had enjoyed over 40 years. |
| But at about 11.15pm he was found collapsed on the pavement by a passerby and was then admitted to Northern General hospital in a critical condition. | But at about 11.15pm he was found collapsed on the pavement by a passerby and was then admitted to Northern General hospital in a critical condition. |
| His widow, Maureen, expressed relief at the verdict and hope that the killers would reflect on what they had done. | His widow, Maureen, expressed relief at the verdict and hope that the killers would reflect on what they had done. |
| Speaking after the verdict, she said: "Alan was a wonderful man who is so dearly missed. Our lives will never be the same again. Alan was a man who was driven by love and compassion and he would not want any of us to hold on to feelings of hate and unforgiveness. | Speaking after the verdict, she said: "Alan was a wonderful man who is so dearly missed. Our lives will never be the same again. Alan was a man who was driven by love and compassion and he would not want any of us to hold on to feelings of hate and unforgiveness. |
| "So, in honour of Alan and … of the god we both love, my prayer is that this story doesn't end today. My prayer is that Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster will come to understand and experience the love and kindness of the god who made him in his own image, and that god's great mercy will inspire him to true repentance." | "So, in honour of Alan and … of the god we both love, my prayer is that this story doesn't end today. My prayer is that Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster will come to understand and experience the love and kindness of the god who made him in his own image, and that god's great mercy will inspire him to true repentance." |
| Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, told the court that Bowling and Foster, whom he described as like brothers, had been drinking alcohol together before the attack and after battering Greaves spotted laughing in a park. Foster had claimed he was a distance away when the attack happened and had been shouting at Bowling to stop. | Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, told the court that Bowling and Foster, whom he described as like brothers, had been drinking alcohol together before the attack and after battering Greaves spotted laughing in a park. Foster had claimed he was a distance away when the attack happened and had been shouting at Bowling to stop. |
| There was confusion in court when the jury foreman said "not guilty" after being asked whether Foster was guilty of murder, prompting celebrations among the accused's family. But as Greaves's widow looked shocked, the jury foreman shouted: "But guilty of manslaughter." | |
| Welcoming the verdict, the vicar of St Saviour's church, Canon Simon Bessan, said Greaves had invested most of his life in the service of the Sheffield community. He had helped open a food bank just weeks before his death. "Alan was intending to celebrate the coming of light at Christmas, yet he himself was the victim of darkness just a few minutes away from doors of the church." | Welcoming the verdict, the vicar of St Saviour's church, Canon Simon Bessan, said Greaves had invested most of his life in the service of the Sheffield community. He had helped open a food bank just weeks before his death. "Alan was intending to celebrate the coming of light at Christmas, yet he himself was the victim of darkness just a few minutes away from doors of the church." |
| Bessan said that Greaves had lived his life with honesty and integrity and remained an inspiration to the church. | Bessan said that Greaves had lived his life with honesty and integrity and remained an inspiration to the church. |
| St Saviour's was packed for Greaves's funeral. Hundreds of people listened to his widow's eulogy via a video link at the nearby St Mary's Roman Catholic church, while scores of wellwishers could not get into either church and stood in freezing temperatures outside, listening to the many tributes through loudspeakers. | |
| Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick, who led the police investigation, said: "Alan Greaves suffered an appalling, extremely violent and totally unprovoked attack as he walked to church. In a matter of minutes, Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster had left an innocent man for dead." | Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick, who led the police investigation, said: "Alan Greaves suffered an appalling, extremely violent and totally unprovoked attack as he walked to church. In a matter of minutes, Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster had left an innocent man for dead." |
| Gavin Hotchkiss, senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, Yorkshire and Humberside, said he hoped that the verdict would be of some comfort to Greaves' friends and family, praising "the absolute dignity and forgiveness demonstrated by Mrs Greaves". | Gavin Hotchkiss, senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, Yorkshire and Humberside, said he hoped that the verdict would be of some comfort to Greaves' friends and family, praising "the absolute dignity and forgiveness demonstrated by Mrs Greaves". |
| The court heard how Foster, of Wesley Road, High Green, and Bowling, of Carwood Way, Pitsmoor, had left a family gathering earlier that evening. | The court heard how Foster, of Wesley Road, High Green, and Bowling, of Carwood Way, Pitsmoor, had left a family gathering earlier that evening. |
| According to prosecutors they were stalking the streets of High Green looking for someone to attack. If they had not killed the pensioner it would have been someone else, the jury was told. | According to prosecutors they were stalking the streets of High Green looking for someone to attack. If they had not killed the pensioner it would have been someone else, the jury was told. |
| • This article was amended on 19 July 2013. An earlier version referred to Alan Greaves's wife rather than his widow. This has been corrected. | |
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