Not guilty of manslaughter after scuffle at Rockley Park

Jamie Alan Mitchell, 35 and of Poole, was acquitted on 20 January following a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

The court had heard that Kenneth Dickie, 64, sustained life-threatening head injuries after he fell to the ground during a domestic dispute between his partner – Samantha Mitchell – and Jamie Mitchell outside the family’s holiday home in Rockley Park in the early hours of 8 May 2016.

Jamie Mitchell had told the court that Mr Dickie’s death was a tragic accident after he stepped inbetween Mr Dickie and his mother to stop them from scuffling and pushed them apart.

Mr Dickie was rushed to Southampton General Hospital and underwent surgery. He was placed in a medically-induced coma but died from his injuries on 14 May.

At an earlier hearing Jamie Mitchell pleaded guilty to common assault – in relation to a brief fight between himself and Mr Dickie earlier that evening – and intent to pervert the course of justice.

Jamie’s mother, Samantha Mitchell, had also previously admitted intent to pervert the course of justice after initially telling officers she had pushed Mr Dickie.

They will both be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on 6 February 2017.