Man jailed for life for rugby player murder

A man who murdered a rugby player in Cornwall has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.

Jake Hill, 25, stabbed Michael Riddiough-Allen, 32, outside Eclipse Nightclub in Bodmin on 30 April 2023.

Hill also injured four others with a serrated hunting knife he had hidden in a nearby hedge after the venue closed.

Mr Riddiough-Allen intervened in a bid to prevent Hill from injuring others but suffered a fatal wound to his abdomen and died at the scene.

Sentencing at Truro Crown Court, Mrs Justice Cutts paid tribute to Mr Riddiough-Allen as a "man of exceptional qualities".

She told the court his death and the injuries caused to four others outside the nightclub were due to Hill's decision to carry a knife.

Co-accused Tia Taylor, 22, from Bodmin, was jailed for three years for manslaughter and perverting the course of justice.

Chelsea Powell, 22, also from Bodmin, was sentenced to 15 months for perverting the course of justice by lying to police after the attack.

Taylor will be released on licence after 18 months and Powell was released immediately due to time served on remand.

The judge said Hill liked the image of being a "hardman" and had not shown a "shred of remorse".

She said on the night of the attack Hill, armed with a weapon, ran into the brawl in a "spree of violence".

She described it is a "paradigm case" of the dangers of carrying knives.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Mr Riddiough-Allen's sister Becky Dustan said the hole left by her brother's death was "all encompassing".

She said his death has been "devastating for everyone" and her family would "never be the same".

"His love was met with hatred and violence leaving him humiliated and lying on the ground," she said.

Det Insp Ilona Rosson, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said after sentencing: "Michael Riddiough-Allen tried to protect those around him and disarm a man who felt the need to carry a knife.

"In doing so, he tragically he lost his life.

"This case highlights the devastation and irreversible damage that carrying and using a knife can cause. No good can come from it."

CCTV cameras captured Hill running across the road and looking for his knife in the hedge before heading straight into the fight with Taylor and Powell following behind.

Shouts of "I've been stabbed" were heard a short time later and CCTV showed bleeding victims running for help.

Among those stabbed by Hill were Ryan Burger, who was stabbed in the thigh and needed nine hours of life-saving surgery.

The court heard Mr Burger phoned his mum to say goodbye as he believed he was dying.

Hill fled the scene and went back to Taylor's house where he attempted to hide the weapon in a kitchen vent.

Armed officers surrounded the house during the early hours and called for those inside to come out.

Taylor appeared and denied there was anyone else inside.

Hill, who had been hiding in the loft, fell onto the landing when police were inside and was arrested, the court previously heard.

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