Chichester death, man sentenced for manslaughter of David Hallatt

A man who admitted a charge of manslaughter following the death of David Hallatt at the Dolphin and Anchor in Chichester has been jailed for seven years.

Following a trial at Hove Crown Court earlier this year, Kieran Egan, 31, of Baldmoor Lake Road in Birmingham was found not guilty of the murder of David. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Dyce Barnfield, 32, of Kingstanding Road, Birmingham, was also found not guilty of the murder and manslaughter of David.

Egan was remanded in custody and appeared at the same court on Friday 4 April for sentencing. Daniel Inns, 43, of Billingham Road, Stockton-on-Tees, also appeared for sentencing with Egan after he admitted a charge of affray in relation to the incident at Portsmouth Crown Court on 3 February. Inns was sentenced to a 10-month custodial sentence suspended for two years. 

The court heard that David, 57, had been enjoying an evening with work colleagues at The Dolphin and Anchor, in West Street, on 20 June, 2024, when he was assaulted by a man not known to him.

Egan and Barnfield were also in the pub. Following the ejection of Inns, who was known to David from the pub for behaving violently towards door staff, tensions flared. An altercation started between several people outside the pub around 11pm.

At the conclusion of the incident, Egan turned and punched David with extreme force, who was an innocent bystander and had been attempting to calm others. Despite the best efforts of police and paramedics who commenced CPR, David was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene.

Egan was arrested at the scene and later charged with murder.

Barnfield was arrested on suspicion of affray, when he handed himself in to police on 1 July 2024.

The court heard he was involved in the altercation, alongside Egan. Barnfield was later also charged with murder on 26 September, given his actions had been seen to encourage those of Egan.

In a statement, David’s family said: “We are disappointed with the sentence, particularly in respect of Egan given the level of violence he displayed throughout the incident.

“However, we would like to personally thank the investigation team, the Senior Investigating Officer and the two Family Liaison Officers who are been there throughout. The police dog handler who was quickly on scene and managed to secure the suspects before they fled and to all the staff and witnesses that came forward to assist with enquiries.

“Our thanks also goes to the police officers and paramedics who fought to try and save David’s life. We thank you all.”

Case Officer Detective Constable Elliott Lander, of the Major Crime Unit said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of David, who has lost his life in such tragic circumstances.

“A life has been cut short following what should have been an enjoyable evening at the pub. The behaviour displayed by Egan was totally unacceptable and ultimately cost a life.

“David was brazenly attacked and had no chance to defend himself. Egan will rightly now have to live with the devastating consequences of his actions.

“This was an extremely complex investigation with a lot of moving parts but ultimately the family will hopefully have some closure. We investigated immediately, with some good fortune an officer was close to the scene at the time of the offence, and so arrested Egan within a minute of the punch.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in the investigation.”