A Norwich crown court jury hearing the trial of a doorman accused of unlawfully killing a man when he ejected him from a Norwich nightclub were sent home last night after failing to reach a verdict.
A Norwich crown court jury hearing the trial of a doorman accused of unlawfully killing a man when he ejected him from a Norwich nightclub were sent home last night after failing to reach a verdict.
Jurors spent more than four hours considering the case yesterday before being sent home for the night and the jury is due to continue with its deliberations today.
Doorman Steven Hopkins, 28, pushed Phillip Ward, 46, as he was leaving the Chicago Rock Caf� in Prince of Wales Road, after a night out with his wife and friends.
Mr Ward, from Drayton, near Norwich, fell backwards through the doors and hit his head on the pavement, suffering a fatal head injury from which he never regained consciousness.
Hopkins, of Woodward Road, Norwich, has denied the manslaughter of Mr Ward and claims he acted in self defence.
In his summing up Judge Peter Jacobs told the jury that there is no dispute that Hopkins had pushed Mr Ward but said: 'The issue is whether he did so unlawfully.'
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