Man jailed for five years for the killing of 78-year-old man in Bury

At Minshull Street Crown Court today, Tuesday 20 August 2024, Nathan Pilling (18/02/2000) of Deal Street, Bury was jailed for five years and four months for the manslaughter of Michael Dawson.

The court was shown CCTV and heard from witnesses who saw the altercation between the two men on the night of Thursday 24 August 2023 on Market Street in Bury town centre.

Mr Dawson had just enjoyed an evening singing on the karaoke at The Bank public house. Upon leaving the premises he saw Pilling riding his bike on the pavement and the two exchanged words.

Pilling was clearly angered by this and cycled over to Mr Dawson resting his bike alongside some railings in order to confront him. A brief exchange of words took place before Pilling suddenly punched Mr Dawson to the head with such force that he had no opportunity to defend himself or break his fall before hitting the pavement and striking his head. He was found to have serious head injuries and was taken to hospital in a critical state, he failed to recover and sadly died on Monday 4^th September 2023.

Rather than render assistance to a critically ill elderly man, Pilling cowardly tried to flee the scene by cycling away but was bravely chased by members of the public before he was intercepted by police and arrested.

In later police interviews Pilling refused to take responsibility for his actions and tried suggest that Mr Dawson struck him and that his actions were those of a person acting in self-defence but the evidence told a different story and he was charged with Section 20 assault which was changed to manslaughter upon the death of Mr Dawson.

The senior investigating officer, Phillip Reade, said: “This was a completely unprovoked attack which sadly took the life of a gentleman who was just enjoying a night out. I am extremely grateful to those members of the public who came to Michael’s aid and helped to detain Pilling.

"It is very clear that Michael was a much loved family man and very popular who will be missed by so many. We have zero tolerance against violence and will do everything we can to make sure the instigators are taken off the streets and placed before the courts.”

Paying tribute to Michael, his family said:

Michael Dawson 1944-2023

Michael Dawson, a Great Grandfather at 78 years of age was tragically taken from his loving family in August 2023. He was attacked by a 24 year old when walking back to the tram to go home after a night out in Bury Town Centre where he had been doing karaoke. He suffered a severe trauma to the head and was rushed to hospital. When his family were first made aware of this incident the following morning they rushed to visit him at Salford Royal. Having been told that Michael had been attacked and had a severe injury to the brain, they never saw him wake up. He spent a number of days in critical care kept alive by machines but sadly never recovered. His friends and family are devastated. 

Mike was a loving great grandad and the head of his family. He was a charismatic, kind man who always put others first.

His family were left devastated by the horrifying attack. 

His family said Michael would give the shirt off his back to a stranger in need, no questions asked. Michael was loved by his family, friends and neighbours, a keen walker, a member of several walking groups, and a keen karaoke singer travelling around with lists of songs to bring joy to people wherever he went. 

In his earlier years Michael was an engineer who worked in South Africa where he met his wife Poppy. Michael lived for a time in Namibia where he is also loved by many family and friends. Poppy sadly passed away several years ago and Michael lived alone, in walking distance from his daughter and granddaughters until the day he was killed. His family described him as an independent man who proudly didn’t need much support. He was writing a speech as he was going to be The Best Man at his cousins wedding later this year. 

He will be sadly missed by his loving family and friends. People in the community continue to be saddened by the tragic news.