Thug who murdered Good Samaritan mother-of-two with broken wine bottle when she intervened in street row is jailed for life

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A thug who murdered a Good Samaritan after she tried to intervene in a row in the street was today jailed for a minimum of 22 years.

Stephen Duggan, 28, stabbed mother-of-two Alison Wilson, 36, in the neck with a broken bottle when she stepped in to protect a baby whose mother was arguing him.

Today he was convicted of murder at Liverpool Crown Court and given a life sentence, of which he will serve at least 22 years.

Jailed: Stephen Duggan, left, has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Alison Wilson, right

Anthony Tomlinson, 42, who was Ms Wilson's boyfriend, was injured after Duggan hit him over the head with the same Echo Falls wine bottle he used to kill his victim.

A jury found Duggan guilty of murder and of wounding Mr Tomlinson, but he was cleared of assaulting the baby during the fight with its mother.

During the trial Duggan claimed he could remember only brief snatches of the incident in March this year, which happened after the couple got out of a taxi to stop the fight between him and the woman, who cannot been named.

Ms Wilson approached Duggan first, because the pair wanted to 'avoid any confrontation' while protecting the baby, but he withdrew the wine bottle and used it to hit her partner who had come to her aid.

He admitted punching out at Mr Tomlinson, but claimed the bottle was in a plastic carrier bag around his wrist which struck the pair 'accidentally'.

Eyewitness Raymond White told the court Duggan 'pole-axed' Mr Tomlinson with what appeared to be a punch before making a separate movement towards Ms Wilson, the mother of two girls aged eight and 12.

Tributes: Mourners left flowers at the scene of the murder in Widnes, Cheshire earlier this year

The court heard Mr Tomlinson's cheek was slashed open in the attack leaving his teeth and tongue visible through the wound, an injury requiring so many stitches the surgeon 'lost count'.

He was also knocked unconscious by the blow, and told the court how he awoke to find Ms Wilson, his partner of six years, stood in the road holding her neck, with a look of shock in her eyes.

Medical staff battled to save the mother's life as she suffered two cardiac arrests due to 'catastrophic' blood loss, but she died in hospital six days later.

The attacker had been drinking wine and Desperado beer before carrying out the assault, because he was celebrating getting a new job at the company where his father worked. 

Jailing Duggan for life today, Mr Justice Holroyde told him: 'In a matter of minutes or even seconds you killed a thoroughly decent public-spirited young woman, herself the loving mother of two young children, who was only motivated by a wish to save a baby from harm.

'You inflicted terrible injury and scarring on an equally decent and public-spirited young man, who had a similar motive. All this you did in drunken temper.'

Duggan had previous convictions for wounding, affray, criminal damage, theft from a shop and driving with excess alcohol, the court heard. 

Trial: Duggan was convicted of murder at Liverpool Crown Court despite saying he had no memory of what happened on the night of the attack

Paying tribute to Ms Wilson, her family said in a statement: 'The day Alison died changed our lives forever. We have struggled as a family to come to terms with what happened and the fact that she was taken from us in such a cruel and violent way.

'Alison was being a good Samaritan and trying to help other people - that is the kind of person she was and how we want her to be remembered.

'Today's guilty verdict brings the investigation to a conclusion and will see her attacker behind bars. Whilst no amount of justice will bring Alison back, we hope that it will allow us some closure as we try to move forward with our lives.'

Mr Tomlinson said: 'The murder has had a massive emotional effect on my life and her two children.

'Alison was a very caring and considerate person. She just had a lovely manner about her and liked making people happy. Alison had a smile that would light up the room and will be missed by many.'

He said he missed 'cosy nights in' with his partner and her children, and was struggling to cope with feelings of emptiness, loneliness, guilt and the "what if?".'

He added that the scars on his face were 'a constant reminder' of the ordeal.

Speaking after the case, Richard Riley of the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'This is a very sad case of a caring couple who tried to go to the defence of a woman and her baby, with tragic results.

'Mr Tomlinson even went back to pay the taxi driver after he'd got out, as the driver said he needed to move as he was blocking the road.

'Ms Wilson had made it clear to Duggan that she didn't mean to harm him when she intervened - she just wanted to protect the baby and the woman. For that act of kindness she lost her life and her partner, Mr Tomlinson, suffered serious injuries.

'Duggan may well have been shocked by his own actions but that is of little comfort to the victims in this awful episode. His violent temper, no doubt fuelled by drink, has resulted in the death of a woman who simply tried to help and her family have to live with that knowledge.'