Man sentenced to over 6 years for killing a man in unprovoked one punch attack at York train station
22-year-old McKenzie DiCicco from Middlesbrough attacked James Hitchcock, from Cottingham, last December
Last updated 16th Jul 2025
A man has been sentenced for manslaughter after an unprovoked one punch attack at York train station.
McKenzie DiCicco, aged 22,from Middlesbrough attacked James Hitchcock from Cottingham last December.
Dicicco, who has played at Thornaby, Northallerton and Pickering football clubs, was jailed for six years and eight months after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Leeds Crown Court heard the two men did not know each other until their paths crossed at York station on December 15th last year.
Mr Hitchcock, had travelled from his home in Cottingham in East Yorkshire for a day out with a group of friends, while Dicicco had come from Middlesbrough with his girlfriend and two friends.
The court heard Dicicco became drunk during the day, and at one point was thrown out of a pop-up bar in York Museum Gardens.
Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, said Dicicco was waiting for his train home, eating some food he brought from the station's Sainsbury's shop, when Mr Hitchcock and his friends walked past and Mr Hitchcock appeared to point in the general direction of the defendant's group.
Mr Greaney said: "That gesture is difficult to interpret and not explained in the evidence but does not appear to be aggressive. This immediately grabbed the defendant's attention."
The court heard words were exchanged between Mr Hitchcock's group and Dicicco, who "squared up to them" and resisted efforts to calm him down.
Mr Greaney said Mr Hitchcock could be seen on CCTV approaching the defendant "with palms open, not offering any violence", ultimately going into Sainsbury's with his friends and waiting there until the coast was clear and the defendant had gone to his platform.
The court heard Dicicco attempted to go back and was clearly agitated, spotting Mr Hitchcock at Burger King before his girlfriend pulled him away.
Mr Greaney said Dicicco's train was delayed from 8.36pm to 8.43pm, and so he "knew he had a 10-minute window of time" when he left the platform and walked back towards the concourse.
The defendant later claimed he wanted to go to the toilet and buy water for the journey, and had not decided to confront Mr Hitchcock until he saw him, but prosecutors rejected that account, saying he had already bought water and had just relieved himself next to a fully functioning vending machine that had water in it.
Mr Greaney said: "The prosecution position is that the defendant made a deliberate decision to walk from the platform to Burger King to assault James Hitchcock."
The court heard Dicicco walked directly to Burger King, rotated his right hand as if to loosen his wrist and "delivered a forceful punch" with his right fist to the right of Mr Hitchcock's head.
Mr Greaney said: "The position of the Crown is that this was a dreadful and cowardly attack committed by the defendant as (Mr Hitchcock) was facing away from him.
"He must have been completely unaware of the impending assault and unable to defend himself from it in any way."
The Barton Town goalkeeper aged 32, was taken to hospital in a critical condition around 9pm on 15th December.
He sadly died in hospital on 18th December, leaving behind a 6-month-old son.
DiCicco admitted manslaughter and showed no emotion as he was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to six years and eight months.
Cicicco was quickly arrested by BTP officers after CCTV and financial enquiries led to his identification. He was charged with murder on 18 December.
Detective Superintendent Sam Painter, Senior Investigating Officer, said: “This was a senseless and completely unnecessary act of violence that led to the tragic loss of a much-loved family man.
“The reason why Dicicco became so aggressive towards James and his group of friends has never been established, out of nowhere he launched a vicious and utterly cowardly attack which took James’s life and left his family completely devastated.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies remain with James’s family and loved ones. Though no sentence can ever make up for the pain they have and continued to suffer, I hope today’s sentencing offers them some small measure of comfort.”
In a victim personal statement read in court, Mr Hitchcock's wife April Hitchcock said her husband "was robbed of the opportunity to defend himself".
She said: "James was the type of person who would light up a room with his warming presence, enthusiasm and infectious laugh."
She said Mr Hitchcock was an engineer with BAE systems as well as playing football at a semi-professional level and was "dedicated to the game which allowed him the opportunity to play for Leeds United Academy".
Mrs Hitchcock added: "His love for the game was overshadowed by his love for his teammates and he soon became the goalkeeper they loved and needed."
A statement from Mr Hitchcock's brother Kurt Hitchcock said he "had to say goodbye to my brother right before his first Christmas with his newborn son".
His friend Ben Lewis, who was there on the night, said Mr Hitchcock's death had a huge impact in the footballing community, and he has since had cup competitions named after him and memorial matches played "in memory of the amazing person he was".
He said: "What should have been an annual Christmas friends' celebration turned into the worst night of our lives.
"Hitchy's death is unbearable. It's terrible the effect one punch can have on the lives of so many people."
The family of James Hitchcock, 32, are paying tribute to him following McKenzie Dicicco's sentencing today.
“James was our light, the life and soul of the party, and loved by so many.
“He had so many exciting years ahead of him as a new Dad to our young baby boy, but due to a single act of thoughtless violence, his time with our newly growing family was cruelly cut short, leaving us devastated.
“Without him, our hearts are broken and our worlds have become very dark without his light.
“We pray that no other family ever goes through what we have endured, and that awareness continues to be raised about the impact a single punch can have on many lives.
“James was, and is still, loved by many, and we know that his memory will live on through our son, family and friends, the football community, and in our hearts.”