A man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the murder of Michael Lavery in Croydon last year.
Patrick Beckley, 32, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on 25 October to life imprisonment with a minimum of 21 years to be served for the murder of Michael Lavery, the actual bodily harm of two other men, and the assault of an emergency worker.
Beckley had been given a guilty verdict at an earlier hearing.
Detective Sergeant Jason Crinnion said: “Beckley is a dangerous and violent offender and will now serve a substantial amount of time in prison following this horrendous crime.
“Michael was no threat at all that day. Beckley’s attack was random and violent and left Michael’s family devastated as a result.”
Michael Lavery, 59, died on 16 October 2020, having been assaulted inside his home off Reddown Road, Coulsdon.
Officers attended the scene at 9.27pm along with ambulances and found Lavery with head injuries and stab wounds.
He was pronounced dead shortly after 10pm.
A special post-mortem determined the cause of death as blunt force trauma and stab wounds.
No motive has been established for the attack, but Beckley is suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time.
A spokesperson for Lavery’s family said: “Our dad was an incredibly kind, generous, lovely man. He was a wonderful dad and granddad. He is missed terribly every day and will forever be dearly loved.
“We are grateful to the police for their thorough investigation which ultimately brought the offender to Justice.”
Featured image credit: Metropolitan Police
