A drug dealer who left a man with fatal injuries from punching and stamping on him has been convicted of manslaughter in a retrial.

Romayne Husbands, 28, was found guilty of manslaughter on Friday, June 2, after a two-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

The court heard how on April 25, 2020 at around 12.30pm the victim, 27-year-old Jay John, was in Trinity Close, Hackney.

He was outside the communal door of a block of flats when Husbands attacked him.

Witnesses described how, unprovoked, Husbands punched Jay once in the face and then stamped four to six times on his upper body area.

Husbands was arrested by officers later that day in a nearby flat and was found to have discarded 59 grams of cocaine.

Jay was found on the ground in Trinity Close - he was unconscious but breathing.

He was treated by police officers and paramedics for a wound to the back of his head.

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He also had facial injuries, including a fractured eye socket and cuts and bruising to his face, lips and jaw.

The London Air Ambulance transported Jay to hospital, but he died the next day.

A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as head injuries. 

A murder investigation was launched and detectives linked Husbands to the scene via blood found on his trousers.

The trial on Friday was a retrial after he had previously been convicted of murder in June 2021.

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He also pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine. 

Husbands was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, June 6).

Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: "This was an extremely violent assault by Romayne Husbands in which he stamped on Mr John numerous times, leaving him for dead.

"I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the public who witnessed the harrowing event and had the courage to attend court and give evidence for a second time.

"Romayne Husbands is a convicted drug dealer which I believe accounts for his presence at the scene on that day and, to some extent, his erratic and violent behaviour.

"Finally, I would like to express my condolences to Mr John’s family and friends, our thoughts are with you."