An 18 year old is jailed for life for murdering a man near Bishop Auckland
Craig Yorke was stabbed in Eldon Lane in December last year
An 18 year old man has been jailed for life today following the murder of Craig Yorke in Eldon Lane.
Mr Yorke was stabbed three times during the attack on common land near the High Street in the early hours of December 14 last year.
Despite the best efforts of the emergency services and passers-by who had answered his call for help, Craig sadly died a short time later from his injuries.
An investigation, led by Durham Constabulary’s Major Crime Team, was launched, and resulted in five people being arrested and charged with murder.
Following a seven-week trial at Teesside Crown Court in July, Jack Lawson, 18 was found guilty of murder.
The other three men and one boy were acquitted.
The police investigation uncovered phone messages about a planned fight at what is known locally as the ‘Old Lines’ in Eldon Lane on the evening of December 13.
Further calls and messages showed that Mr Yorke was not the intended target.
Jack Lawson pleaded guilty to manslaughter but claimed that he had not intended to kill or cause serious harm to Mr Yorke.
He had however unlawfully brought a knife to the scene of a fight, which he ultimately used to stab Mr Yorke during an outburst of extreme violence.
Lawson appeared at Teesside Crown Court today (October 7) and was jailed for a minimum of 18 years.