Bovic Mupolo: Killer who partied after fatally stabbing Sheffield dad at pub spends first year in jail

The man who murdered a popular Sheffield dad after violence flared at a Sheffield pub, has now served the first year of his life sentence behind bars.

Macaulay Byrne, who was known affectionately as 'Coley,' had his future cruelly snatched away from him, when 22-year-old Bovic Mupolo fatally stabbed him during an incident at the Gypsy Queen pub in Beighton on Boxing Day 2021.

And while nothing can bring Mr Byrne back to his loved ones, the life sentence handed to Mupolo means he will be off the streets - and behind bars - until at least 2040 after The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, fixed his minimum term at 18 years, during a November 2022 hearing at Sheffield Crown Court.

In a statement released by the family of 26-year-old Mr Byrne after his killer was jailed, they described him as a 'much-loved son, brother, father, nephew and grandson'.

They added: "Coley will live on in our hearts forever and the verdict delivered today goes some way to help us process the events which took him from us."

Mupolo sought to deny responsibility through his plea of not guilty, but jurors rejected his account when they convicted him of Mr Byrne's murder at the conclusion of a Sheffield Crown Court trial.

Prosecuting barrister, John Harrison KC, described how Mupolo stopped off at numerous venues including The Mason Arms, in Wickersley, Rotherham, and the Crystal Bar and Viper Rooms, on Carver Street, Sheffield, after the stabbing.

During the course of the trial, jurors were told that Mupolo and Mr Byrne had been involved in a fight at the pub that spilled into the car park.

Mr Byrne suffered four stab wounds, with two of them eventually proving fatal.

After staggering back into the pub after the attack, he bled out behind the bar before he was taken by ambulance to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital where he tragically died a short time later. But instead of trying to help Mr Byrne as he lay bleeding to death, callous Mupolo left the pub to party the night away.

As he sent Mupolo, formerly of Fleury Rise, Gleadless, to begin his life sentence, Judge Richardson told him: "This case demonstrates the dangers of individuals carrying knives and then involving themselves in a fight.

"The temptation to use the knife is so great that it overwhelms the individual. The knife is then used to devastating and often fatal effect. That is what happened here.

"There can be no doubt, having heard statements from the deceased’s family that he was much loved and his family have been devastated by his death, and the circumstances of his death."

As Judge Richardson was asked to hand out commendations to some of the police officers involved in the case, he said there had been a 'marked lack of co-operation' from witnesses present at the Gypsy Queen pub.

"When people do not co-operate it causes enormous difficulties. This was a serious incident, and the lack of co-operation was shocking," Judge Richardson said.

He praised the officers in the case for helping to secure the conviction of Mupolo under 'difficult circumstances'.

Commenting on the response of the emergency services on the night of the attack, Judge Richardson said those in attendance found themselves in a 'shocking' situation, and endeavoured to save Mr Byrne’s life and to deal with the incident in an 'extremely' professional manner.

He referenced evidence heard in the trial from paramedics who said they were delayed in getting to Mr Byrne when they arrived on the scene due to the actions of an 'angry mob'.

One such paramedic was Catherine Gausden. In her statement, Ms Gausden said she and her colleague were stopped in their tracks by youths shouting and banging on their ambulance as they arrived and even after they entered the car park they could not get near the pub doors.

She added: "As I exited the vehicle to get equipment I was unable to do so because I was confronted by an angry mob and youths and I explained my colleague was inside and I needed to get inside." Ms Gausden stated a police officer stood between her and the 'mob' and they were showered with broken glass before they got to Mr Byrne, who was bleeding profusely.

Judge Richardson continued: "I cannot judge whether the delay that was occasioned there had a material effect, I suspect not. But the emergency services were prevented from acting as rapidly as they would wish to, as a result of the actions of individuals I can only describe as 'malicious louts'."