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Scunthorpe man launches frenzied attack on his own brother

Simmering tensions between two brothers suddenly erupted into violence when one of them became enraged during a family gathering and broke his sibling’s nose in a vicious and frenzied attack.

Mark Sharpe, of Scunthorpe, repeatedly punched and kicked his brother, despite being warned that he would end up killing him if he did not stop. Sharpe defiantly told the victim: “I want to kill you. I am going to kill you.”

He punched his brother about 10 times in the face and also kicked or stamped on him 10 times, Hull Crown Court heard. Sharpe, 55, admitted assaulting his brother, causing actual bodily harm, on December 15 last year.

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Hannah Turner, prosecuting, said that Sharpe’s brother was at the home of his elderly mother in Goole, East Yorkshire, and was acting as her full-time carer. His sister and Sharpe were also there.

The four of them were chatting normally at first and the mother asked for help to go to the bathroom. Sharpe tried to assist her, but his brother, being used to helping her with such tasks, tried to help as he was concerned that she might trip due to the way Sharpe was holding her.

Sharpe let go of her and said to his brother: “Don’t you start – get outside”. This was taken as implying that he wanted to fight his brother.

Sharpe lunged towards his brother and wrapped his hand around his neck. “He then proceeded to punch his brother to the face appropriately 10 times,” said Miss Turner.

The brother felt everything becoming distorted as he was punched and he remembered falling to the floor. Sharpe began repeatedly kicking his brother in the face, using the heel of his foot and also stamping on his face.

“The victim believes that he did this approximately 10 times,” said Miss Turner. While the brother was on the floor, he tried to defend himself by kicking out at Sharpe.

While the attack was continuing, the sister and her mother made attempts to stop Sharpe, shouting: “Mark, stop it. You’ll kill him.” Sharpe shouted to his brother: “I want to kill you. I am going to kill you.”

The brother believed that Sharpe would kill him and he thought that the attack would never stop. After about five minutes, Sharpe stopped his attack and left the property.

The brother went to Scunthorpe A&E. He had suffered considerable bruising to the head and neck, with significant swelling to the left side of his face and blurred vision. He had a displaced fracture of the left nasal bone and a “whiplash-like” soft tissue injury. He later said that the incident had affected him for months afterwards and he suffered flashbacks.

He suffered from anxiety and was more fed up and tired than usual. “I am always worried when I am visiting my Mum and sister that he will be there,” said the brother.

He spent months worrying that Sharpe would turn up without notice. His mother and sister had witnessed the attack and this was particularly upsetting for his mother.

Seeing her upset about the incident and what had happened between her two sons was very upsetting for him. “This has turned the family upside down,” he said.

Sharpe, of Lloyds Avenue, Scunthorpe, made no comment during police interview. He had convictions for six previous offences between 1989 and 2012, including assault causing actual bodily harm in 1989, when he was fined £75, and assault causing actual bodily harm, two offences of assault and another of assaulting police in 2012, when he was given a community order.

Oliver Connor, mitigating, said that Sharpe had not had any contact with his brother since the incident. Sharpe was ensuring that, during his visits to his mother, he was not coming into contact with his brother.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told Sharpe: “You went to your mother’s home, where you brother was, and there was a falling out between the two of you. You assaulted your brother and caused him substantial injuries. Fortunately, it does not appear as though there has been any long-lasting damage. A lot of time has passed since then without you having committed any further offences.”

Sharpe was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence, 200 hours’ unpaid work, 15 days’ rehabilitation and a five-year restraining order.

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe

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