'Calm and intent' murderer who brutally battered man to death in bed in Sunderland jailed for life
A "calm and intent" murderer who brutally battered a dad-of-three to death with a baton as he lay in bed has been jailed for life.
Adrian Wright was a guest in the home where Allen Adeyemi Tejan had been staying when he launched a sickening and sustained attack with the weapon and tried to smother him with a pillow. Newcastle Crown Court the "inexplicable" violence may have been triggered by Wright feeling disrespected hours earlier.
As Wright, 53, was told he must serve a minimum of 18 years and four months of a life sentence, 40-year-old Allen's family told of their heartbreak, with his mum describing his murder as "one long nightmare".
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Jamie Hill KC, prosecuting, told the court Allen was originally from Sierra Leone in Africa but lived and worked in the UK for most of his life. His home was in south London but he had been staying in Sunderland to look for work at the time of the killing in April this year.
He had been staying with a friend, who was the ex partner of his pal. In the lead up to April 24, the woman had been messaging a man who was friends with Wright. She agreed to let the man travel to visit her and stay at her home and he said Wright would be coming too as he would drive him from Leeds.
On the night before the killing, a total of five people had been socialising at the woman’s home on Lily Street, Sunderland. Mr Hill said there was “no evidence of any serious trouble during the evening” but one man who was there describe Wright as “almost lecturing him and giving him what he described as life lessons and questioning his use of cannabis”.
Mr Hill added that Wright also appeared to be getting irritated by Allen, who was dancing and ignored Wright’s attempts to speak to him. Mr Hill said: “The inference is the defendant was the most senior person there in terms of age and thought he had been disrespected by Mr Tejan.”
Wright also asked Allen about where he lived in London and who he knew and accused him of being evasive in his answers. By around 2am, everyone had settled down for the night, with Allen in an upstairs bedroom and Wright downstairs. At 8am the woman whose house they were in heard “repetitive percussive sounds” which she likened to a skipping rope and got out of bed to investigate.
She saw Wright standing over Allen, who was still in bed. Wright was wearing gloves and was armed with an extendable baton he had found in the house.
Mr Hill said: “As she stood in the doorway to the bedroom the defendant looked towards her and put his index finger to his lips to shush her. He then delivered heavy blows with the weapon to Mr Tejan’s face.”
The woman went to get Wright’s friend and they saw him using the butt of the weapon to repeatedly strike Allen’s face. Mr Hill said: “The woman then saw the defendant had put one knee on the bed and was holding a pillow over his face, clearly trying to suffocate him. Mr Tejan was trying to push the pillow away.”
The man and woman tried to stop Wright and wrestled with him on the bed and the woman fell off it. She then saw the pillow had come away from Allen’s face and Mr Hill said: “She could see how severely damaged and misshapen his head appeared to be.”
Wright used the baton to hit him in the face again and the noise was so loud a neighbour heard it through the wall. The neighbour heard 10 to 15 thuds.
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The court heard that throughout the attack, Wright was described as “calm and intent”. When the man and woman tried to intervene again, Wright shouted: “Get off, you’re next”. A final blow to Allen’s face with the baton caused his nose to “explode”, the court heard.
After the attack, Wright said to the woman: “Right, all three of us are involved in this. Let me think. We have to get rid of the body.” The woman ran out of the house and contacted police and Wright fled the scene.
The emergency services arrived and kept Allen alive and he was taken to the RVI in Newcastle. But he had suffered a catastrophic and unsurvivable brain injury and died just after 1am on April 25. He had extensive facial and skull fractures and severe damage to the brain.
Mr Hill said “it appears the defendant may well have brooded over what happened earlier” before attacking him.
In a victim impact statement, Allen’s mum said: “The pain of his passing has left me heartbroken. The murderer has left a big vacuum in our lives. I live in hope this is one long nightmare that I will wake up from one day. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.
“He was snatched away without any notice. The person who took away my only son has his whole life ahead of him.”
One of Allen’s three daughters added: “The loss of my father has been hard because I know it was not a natural death. I know he will always be proud of everything me and my sisters do. I hate the thought of not being able to share things with him.”
Passing sentence, Judge Paul Sloan KC told Wright: “For some inexplicable reason, at about 8am, you determined to attack Mr Tejan. You put on gloves, you found an extendable baton, the extendable shaft being made of metal and you made your way upstairs to the bedroom occupied by Mr Tejan. He was lying in bed under the covers and you launched a vicious attack upon him.”
The judge added that Mr Tejan was a “loving and much-loved” man with a “zest for life and for his family”. He said: “As a result of your actions, his young daughters are now without a father and his mother finds herself heartbroken and living a nightmare.
“Your actions have had a devastating and truly traumatic effect. No sentence I’m permitted by law to impose could even begin to ease the suffering and pain experienced by those who were close to Mr Tejan.”
Judge Sloan continued: “The attack on a man as he lay in bed was repeated and sustained. It was also particularly brutal, involving the use of a weapon to batter the deceased’s face and head before trying to smother him with a pillow.
“Mr Tejan was conscious during a significant part of the attack. As well as being terrified he will have suffered excruciating pain while still conscious.”
Liam Walker KC, defending, said the offence happened after Wright had consumed a large amount of alcohol.