Barnsley man jailed for life after killing Spice user by stamping on his head

Ricky Ramsden, formerly of Dodworth Road, Barnsley, was today told he would serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars after being found guilty of murdering 39-year-old Dawid Szubert in June this year.

The jury at Sheffield Crown Court had heard how on June 17, Ramsden had seen Mr Szubert unconscious in the the town's Civic Gardens and decided to attack him.

Ramsden reportedly told witnesses he was sick of seeing '˜Spice heads' in the town and that he was going to wait for the CCTV cameras to turn away before he did anything.

Paramedics were subsequently called at around 3.30pm to reports a man was in cardiac arrest and on arrival, found Mr Szubert with a serious injury to his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Whittaker said it quickly became clear that Mr Szubert had been subjected to a vicious attack, and a post mortem confirmed the cause of death as a severe head injury '“ consistent with the victim's head having been stamped on.

As part of the investigation, officers scoured CCTV from the town centre and spoke to numerous witnesses.

Several public appeals for information were released in the media, which enabled officers to identify Mr Szubert and piece together what happened that day.

'I'm incredibly grateful to those individuals who came forward and spoke to police about Mr Szubert's death, going on to give evidence in this case,' said DCI Whittake.

'When the incident was first reported, Mr Szubert had no ID on him so the public appeals were of vital importance to identify him and work out what happened to him.

'Through numerous witness statements and CCTV, we were able to subsequently identify Ramsden. Two days after Mr Szubert's death, Ramsden was arrested on suspicion of murder.

'The brutality and callousness shown by Ramsden is as shocking as it is appalling and throughout our inquiry, he has shown no remorse for his actions and has continued to deny his involvement in Mr Szubert's death.

'The court heard that on that day Mr Szubert, a Polish national who had lived in Barnsley for approximately two years, had taken the drug spice and was laid unconscious.

'Ramsden took exception to this, walked over to Mr Szubert and stamped on his head, stating that he was sick of seeing spice heads and numerous witnesses heard him say that he was going to wait until the CCTV cameras turned away before he did something.

'The stamp caused a large bleed on his brain, immediately killing Mr Szubert.

'Ramsden then disposed of his clothing, footwear, and mobile phone, but despite his efforts to conceal his involvement in this horrendous crime he has now been convicted.

'My thoughts remain with Mr Szubert's family, who live in Poland, who have carried themselves with dignity throughout our investigation.'