Robber who beat pensioner to death for cottage pie and cornflakes jailed for life
John Mackey, 87, was attacked by unemployed Peter Augustine after he visited a Co-op store in Manor House, north London, where he bought cottage pie and cornflakes on the afternoon of May 6.
A robber who fatally kicked, punched and stamped on a vulnerable pensioner before taking off with a box of cornflakes and a cottage pie has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years.
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John Mackey, 87, was attacked by unemployed Peter Augustine after he visited a Co-op store in Manor House, north London, where he bought cottage pie and cornflakes on the afternoon of May 6.
Earlier in November, an Old Bailey jury found Augustine, 59, guilty of robbery and murder.
He was also sentenced on Friday for a theft charge that was dealt with at a magistrates’ court.
Augustine did not attend his broadcasted sentencing and Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC told the court: “I have no doubt that the defendant targeted (Mr Mackey) specifically because he was frail – it was a cowardly act, the defendant has shown no remorse.”
Augustine has spent 203 days on remand and now has 22 years and 162 days left of his sentence to serve.
Read more: Body of missing pensioner found in suspected murder-suicide of father by son
Police pieced together events from CCTV footage, although the attack itself was not caught on camera, prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff KC previously told the trial.
Mr Mackey had visited a north London Co-op store where he bought a box of cornflakes, a shepherd’s pie before he visited a kebab shop on the afternoon of Tuesday May 6.
He paid for his goods using a £20 note and put the change of £11.50 in his trouser pocket.
Eighteen minutes later, Augustine began to follow the pensioner.
Augustine stole from his black duffel bag containing his Co-op purchasers, before punching and kicking the 87-year-old victim to death.
The killer was arrested two days after the assault but showed no remorse for his actions while in custody, making a series of threats, acting violently and throwing a hot coffee at an officer, the Metropolitan Police said.
Heartbreaking family tributes poured in for Mr Mackey following his death.
They described him as “funny,” “charming” and a “life-long Arsenal fan” who was “adored by his family and loved by his local community”.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers, from the Met's Specialist Crime North Unit said: “John was a proud Irishman and an innocent member of the public, and was walking back home after running errands when he was the victim of this tragic incident.”