Thug in street attack found guilty of murder

A drunken thug who beat a man to death and then went for a pint and game of pool in the pub has been convicted of murder.

A jury took less than four hours yesterday to convict Jason Talbot of the murder of Peter White, who was beaten senseless as he sat on a park bench in Bilston town centre.

The same jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court was today still considering its verdict on Talbot's co-accused Arthur Henry. Talbot, aged 34, of Rocket Pool Drive, Bradley, killed 47-year-old Mr White on October 9 last year in Church Street. The victim, of Bilston Road, suffered a brain haemorrhage, broken bones and torn arteries in the brutal attack that lasted for five minutes. He also had the pattern from a pair of trainers imprinted on his face.

During a two-week trial at the city court, the jury heard how Talbot was playing pool in the Greyhound & Punchbowl pub less than 10 minutes after battering his victim to death.

Henry, 45, of Rosemary Avenue, The Lunt, denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.