A HALLOWEEN party guest who battered a male model to death while dressed as a clown has been jailed for life.
on 37-year-old Luke Harden.
Bhekisani Matabiswana, 27, was dressed as a clown when he punched, kicked and stamped on 37-year-old Luke Harden at a Halloween party Credit: SWNS
Matabiswana got life with a minimum 16½-year term for killing male model Luke, above Credit: SWNS
In a victim statement read in court, Luke’s mum, Katie McGovern, said the family’s life had been “overtaken with fear, stress, worry and pain”.
She said: “We no longer can be normal, we are now living in a new reality that does not feel real and we will never be the same people we were before the 1st November.
“The realisation that Luke is not able to become a dad, that we are not going to be grandparents.
“Not being able to take regular holidays or have our conversations, what used to be a simple and mundane part of life of having Friday night calls with Luke where he put the world to rights, has now become some of our cherished memories.
“We have been robbed of time, hugs, kisses, love, memories. Watching his life, his future, his plans and his career all unfold has been ripped away and the reason why is still unknown.
“We have been robbed of a son, something a parent should never do, bury their child in their lifetime.”
Luke was beaten while lying defenceless following the party in Stacksteads, Lancs.
Matabiswana denied murder and claimed he acted in self-defence.
Floral tributes at the scene in the aftermath of Luke Harden’s murder Credit: SWNS
Home Office pathologist Dr Charles Wilson said Luke had been subjected to a ‘forceful assault’ Credit: SWNS
After being freed under , he was arrested trying to board a flight to South Africa.
He was convicted at Preston crown court last week and yesterday got life with a minimum 16½-year term.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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