Five teenagers were on Tuesday found guilty of killing a dad after fatally injuring him in a group attack.
Danny Humble, 35, had been enjoying his first night out since lockdown restrictions eased and was walking home in Northumberland with his partner, Adele Stubbs, when they encountered the group near an underpass.
One of them made a comment about how Mr Humble looked like Ant McPartlin, which he initially received in good humour before punching the teenager, the court heard.
The group then attacked Mr Humble, who was left dying on the ground after being punched, kicked and having his neck stamped on.
Now Alistair Dickson, 18, of Blyth, has been found guilty of his murder after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Eighteen-year-olds Ethan Scott, Kyros Robinson, Bailey Wilson and an unnamed 17-year-old were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Mr Justice Bennathan said he will sentence them in September after pre-sentence reports are compiled.
The judge said: “I’m going to remand these young men into custody given they face significant periods of loss of liberty.” He then thanked the jury for their work in what are “obviously grim matters”.
In a video-recorded interview, Miss Stubbs said they were on a “date night” and had been out for a few drinks and a meal.
She said she can’t remember leaving the pub or getting to the underpass, and wasn’t sure if Mr Humble had said “what did you just say” to the teenagers they encountered.
Miss Stubbs said she remembers someone delivering an uppercut from the left and added: “It went from zero to 100 just like that. I was screaming ‘get off him, get off him.’ I said ‘get off him, leave him, he’s hurt.’
She fought back tears as she described seeing her partner lying on the ground.
She said: “I’m a nurse. Something kicked in that something was seriously wrong. Then I heard sirens and felt relieved someone was coming to help.”
