Lancashire man jailed for life for murdering own dad
Austin Duckworth attacked his father repeatedly in his own home in August last year
A Lancashire man has been jailed for life for murdering his own father in a vicious attack.
On 26th August, last year, Austin Duckworth breached his bail conditions by attending the home of Stephen Duckworth on St George’s Road.
He forced his way into his father’s home and repeatedly punched him to the head, before walking away, telling his father he better call an ambulance.
Stephen contacted police and was able to tell them what happened. He initially declined hospital treatment, but then felt increasingly unwell as the day progressed
Stephen was taken to hospital where it was discovered that he had a ‘devastating bleed to the brain’.
Despite the best efforts of medical staff, Stephen died from his injuries on 12th October, 2023.
A post mortem examination revealed the cause of Stephen’s death was blunt force head trauma.
After a five-day trial at Preston Crown Court, Austin Duckworth, 37, of no fixed address, was found guilty of murder.
DCI Jill Riley, from our Force Major Investigation Team, said: “This is a tragic case involving the death of a 72-year-old man, in his own home, at the hands of his son. This was a callous and violent attack and one which left Stephen with non-survivable injuries.
“This is a very rare case where a murder victim was able to provide an account of the attack to the police, which was played to the jury during this trial. This was extremely upsetting for members of Stephen’s family who were present in court, and I must thank them for the way in which they conducted themselves throughout the trial and for the support that they have given to this investigation.
At Preston Crown Court Austin Duckworth has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 17 years.