Ex-jockey Levi Williams, 27, jailed for manslaughter of pensioner

4 Jun 2026 • 9:51 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Ex-jockey Levi Williams, 27, jailed for manslaughter of pensioner

  • Former jockey Levi Williams has been sentenced to three years in prison for the manslaughter of 71-year-old Richard Wingrove, who died after being punched outside a pub in Newmarket, Suffolk.
  • Mr Wingrove sustained a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain after falling and hitting his head during an altercation on March 8, 2025, and passed away 10 days later in hospital.
  • The incident occurred after Mr Wingrove and his son were ejected from the Waggon and Horses pub, leading to a confrontation with Williams and a friend, both jockeys.
  • While the judge acknowledged Williams was not the initial aggressor, he ruled that the final, fatal punch to a vulnerable man, while Williams was intoxicated and had taken cocaine, was not justifiable.
  • Detective Constable Hannah Barrett described Mr Wingrove's death, which happened while he was celebrating his birthday, as a “completely avoidable act of violence” that caused immense devastation.

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