'Coley finally gave me a ring' - Sheffield dad killed in pub stabbing gave ring to partner hours before death

The friends and family of Macaulay Byrne were present to see Bovic Mupolo, the man responsible for killing their beloved ‘Coley’ in a knife attack outside the Gypsy Queen pub in Beighton, Sheffield on Boxing Day 2021, during a sentencing hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on November 25. Through gut-wrenching statements read to the court, the devastating impact the death of Mr Byrne – a beloved dad, partner, son, brother and friend – continues to have on those closest to him was laid bare.

Jess Whitham, Mr Byrne’s heartbroken partner of seven years, revealed how she received a ring from Mr Byrne on Christmas Day 2021, just a matter of hours of before his tragic death. “Coley had finally given me a ring,” she said, adding: “To lose him the next day is heartbreaking.” Ms Whitham also described the unimaginable pain their children have endured since his death. She said they were terrified of her ‘leaving them like their father who will never return’.

Mr Byrne’s mother, Michelle Byrne, said that while she was trying to remain strong for her other children, and grandchildren, she feels ‘broken’ and like her heart continously ‘aches’.

“What happened that night has shattered all of our lives forever,” she said, adding: “He was the father of our family, everyone listened to him. I feel like my other children are lost, he was the voice of reason.”

21-year-old Mupolo denied killing Mr Byrne, who was just 26-years-old when he passed away, but jurors rejected Mupolo’s account when they found him guilty of Mr Byrne’s murder on Thursday, November 24 – after two days of deliberation.

Prosecuting barrister, John Atkinson KC, said he believed an ‘aggravating feature’ of the case was Mupolo’s ‘pre-meditated’ decision to go to the Gypsy Queen armed with a knife, while acknowledging his exact reason for doing so was not known. However The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said he was ‘satisfied’ that Mupolo, of Fleury Rise, Gleadless ‘did not intend violence’ that night; and his deadly actions were instead the product of a ‘short burst of violence’ that was ‘sparked’ when ‘another person’ said something to the defendant near to the door of the pub.

Judge Richardson also said he was ‘satisfied’ that Mupolo had been in possession of a ‘relatively small knife’ prior to the incident ‘erupting’.

“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,” Judge Richardson told Mupolo.

In mitigation, Nicholas Rhodes KC said: “There was no intention to kill,” adding that his client had written letters thanking Judge Richardson and expressing his condolences to Mr Byrne’s family, but did not believe reading the latter missive would be appropriate.

Judge Richardson jailed Mupolo for life, to serve a minimum of 18 years, and told him: “There can be no doubt – having heard statements from the deceased’s family – that he was much loved. His family have been devastated by his death, and the circumstances of his death.”