Life sentence for Wigan 46-year-old who beat man to death with champagne bottle

Dean Hughes, 46 and formerly of Church Avenue in Bickershaw, will serve a minimum of 16 years behind bars following his unanimous conviction by a Manchester Crown Court jury last week for murdering Shane Maloney in an attack four and a half years ago.

The 31-year-old was the victim of a ruthless onslaught following an argument and a scuffle, where other friends were present. At some point during the fracas, a Magnum-sized champagne bottle was used to inflict what was later determined by forensic experts to be the fatal blow to the head.

Shane also suffered other blows to his body during the violent incident on Wigan Road in Leigh back on a Friday night in November 2019.

Hughes in the immediate aftermath was recorded on police body worn video saying; “don’t underestimate a short a***” and “I’m trained and I’m teached how to kill” along with “payback’s a b****” while he was under the influence of drink and drugs.

When officers arrived, along with other first-aid responders, Shane was found unconscious outside in the garden, having been dragged and left there by Hughes who was arrested at the scene on suspicion of intending to cause his victim grievious bodily harm.

He was later charged with this crime – also known as Section 18 wounding and in May 2020 he appeared in court to plead guilty to that attack and was initially sentenced to eight years in prison.

Tragically, Shane never fully recovered from his injuries and had a severe brain injury which prevented independent living.

In March 2021, a year on from the conviction, he sadly passed away. A detailed examination uncovered shortly after that the cause of death was directly linked to that of the assault, meaning additional charges were later brought for the more serious offence of murder.

Hughes was already behind bars when convicted last week so he will be incarcerated for even longer.

Det Insp Chris Preston from GMP’s Wigan district said: “This is a really sad and upsetting case that has had devastating consequences for those who knew and loved Shane.

“Hughes actions on that night have rightly been brought to justice and shows that his intentions on that night were cause to serious harm to Shane with no regard to those around him or what he did.

“Our investigation has always had the family of Shane at the heart of it and would like to pass on our condolences once again, as they sadly must come to terms with losing Shane in such distressing circumstances over a prolonged period of time, always hoping, praying and giving him the best quality of life, he could have despite the injuries he sustained at the time.

“As a force we remain committed on investigating and solving crime around serious assaults and despite the tragic story around this, hopefully sends a stark reminder to everyone that your actions can have far reaching consequences.”