Teen 'responsible' for death of man on Silver Street, Bury, court told

Brook Marshall-Byrne, now 20, was aged 19 when he became involved in two separate spates of street violence on Silver Street in Bury town centre first in May and then July last year.

The second of these incidents led to the tragic death of 35-year-old Piotr Ludwiczak and Manchester Crown Court heard how Marshall-Byrne had been central to both violent incidents.

Prosecutor Henry Blackshaw said: “He was part of two groups of men who were involved in violence in the streets.”

Mr Blackshaw told the court police only picked up on the first street brawl, which broke out on Silver Street on May 21 last year, when they trawled CCTV looking for evidence on the second.

The tragic incident unfolded on Silver Street in Bury town centre (Image: Newsquest)

This second bout of fighting had broken out in the early hours of July 8 last year and lead to Mr Ludwiczak’s death.

Father-of-one Mr Ludwiczak suffered serious head injuries after hitting the pavement following a blow from Marshall-Byrne, and later died in hospital.

During the fighting, Marshall-Byrne was involved in a “rolling confrontation” with another group of men that centred around a ginnel and behind a pub on Silver Street.

The previous unconnected fighting had involved “widespread fighting on the pavement”, according to Mr Blackshaw, involving several other people.

The case was heard at Manchester Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Brought before the courts for trial Marshall-Byrne denied manslaughter over the death of Mr Ludwiczak and was eventually found not guilty by a jury after three days of deliberations.

But he admitted to affray after evidence of the fighting in May emerged and was convicted of another count of the same offence for the fatal July incident.

Daniel Calder, defending, reminded the court that Marshall-Byrne, of Prestwich Hills, had been just 19 at the time of both incidents and said he had struggled with a difficult upbringing.

Police on the scene at Silver Street (Image: Newsquest)

He said that the now 20-year-old had never troubled the courts before and would not do so in future, while references described him as “hardworking".

But the Honorary Recorder for Manchester Judge Nicholas Dean KC reminded the court of the tragic consequences of the two nights of violence.

Addressing the defendant directly, he said: “At the end of the day, although you are not guilty of any offence in relation to Piotr Ludwiczak’s death, you are responsible for it.”

He added: “The fact is that at no stage was Mr Ludwiczak attacking you.

“He was a completely innocent man who was doing no more than trying to restrain people who were involved in violence.”

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Judge Dean said that this showed just how serious the tragic consequences of violence like this could be.

He said: “Piotr Ludwiczak lost his life through no fault of his own, through no action that was in anyway provocative or unlawful and his death was a tragedy.”

He said he hoped that Marshall-Byrne, who had been involved in boxing training would be able to show himself to be a productive member of society in future.

Judge Dean said: “I hope that you will remember what happened in July 2023.

"It should be a powerful reminder to you of the potential consequences of behaving in the way that you did."

He sentenced Marshall-Byrne to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years and ordered him to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days with 120 hours of unpaid work.