This week 30 years ago: Man acquitted of killing relative in Cally wedding brawl
Islington Gazette: July 10, 1987 - Credit: Archant
Building worker Paul Reilly, 20, was acquitted by a jury of manslaughter at the end of a three-week trial.
The former Mitre pub in Copenhagen Street. Picture: Ewan Munro/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 - Credit: Archant
The verdict was greeted by cheers from Mr Reilly’s friends and family in the public gallery.
Mr Reilly, who had been in custody since the incident the previous July, punched the air. He shouted “thank you, thank you” to jurors from the dock as he was discharged.
Mr Reilly denied killing Michael Bush, a 37-year-old dad-of-three at his pub, The Mitre in Copenhagen Street.
The jury was told trouble flared at the reception, which Mr Bush arranged for his wife’s sister. Over an hour, £400 of booze (equivalent of £1,000 today) was consumed and fighting broke out.
You may also want to watch:
Mr Bush tried to act as the peacemaker but was hit as fists flew. He collapsed and was taken to hospital, where he died of a brain haemorrhage four days later.
Most Read
- 1 Man dies after collapsing in Islington
- 2 Police search for suspects after teen stabbed in the face in the Cally
- 3 Council tax set to rise amid 'hand-to-mouth' Covid-19 government funding
- 4 Student on 'emotional' first day giving Covid jab to NHS workers
- 5 Man left partially blind after Islington robbery
- 6 Call for tech donations to tackle digital divide in students
- 7 E-fit appeal after teen partially blinded in Canonbury Road baton attack
- 8 Corporation Street fight: Boy, 15, stabbed in the face in the Cally
- 9 Islington and Camden charity connects generations with winter project
- 10 Royal Mail 'working hard' but Islington residents report ongoing delays
