A teen thug was jailed today after killing a Bolton man with a single punch he nicknamed ‘the bomb’ – then going to his friends to play video games while his victim lay dying.
Eden Lomax, 17, of Northwood Crescent, Dean, was sentenced to life and must serve a minimum of ten years at a young offender’s institution after being found guilty of murder.
Simon Mitchell was killed after he went on a night out with friends following his redundancy. He then wandered off from the group and approached Lomax and his friends at around 9pm about how he was down on his luck.
Lomax, who had already threatened to punch two intoxicated men that night, became agitated with Simon and told him to change the subject. Simon offered to shake Lomax’s hand as a sign of friendship and an attempt to diffuse the rising tension.
Lomax then told Simon that he would ‘bomb him’ if he didn’t go away to which Simon asked what a bomb was.
The teenager then punched Simon with such force that it fractured his jaw and he fell backwards hitting his head on a pavement. The teenager’s friends rushed to Simon’s aid while Lomax walked to his friend’s house to play video games.
Simon died from a severe brain injury and Lomax was arrested two days later in which he told police that he acted in self-defence.
Detective Chief Inspector Pete Jackson, of the Major Incident Team, said: “Simon lost his life at the hands of a young thug, who was driven by aggression and pent-up violence and revelled in the fact that he could knock vulnerable people unconscious with a single punch, which he referred to as his ‘bomb’.
“Like all cowards and bullies he targeted people who he knew could not defend themselves or fight back.”
The youngster had already pleaded guilty to two other unprovoked assaults in which he punched two other men just yards away from where he landed the fatal blow in Bolton town centre.
DC Jackson added: “It was a tragic way for Simon’s evening to end. It has left his father and family devastated. My thoughts are with them and I hope that the justice delivered today will provide some comfort to them.
“I hope this incident serves as a timely reminder of the real dangers to life involved when people throw a punch. Too many people have lost their lives in such incidents. I would urge people to think before they ever contemplate throwing a punch, you could cost someone their life and spend the rest of your own in a prison cell.”
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
