Sutton Heath – Man convicted of manslaughter

A 43-year-old man has been convicted of manslaughter after a fatal stabbing in Sutton Heath last year.

Jay Cotterill, of Ipswich Avenue, Sutton Heath, was found guilty at Ipswich Crown Court today, Friday 14 June, following a trial lasting just over four weeks.

The incident took place on Sunday 8 October 2023, when police were called to reports of a stabbing outside a property in Ipswich Avenue at just before 9pm.

Officers arrived at the scene within 15 minutes, followed shortly afterwards by ambulance crews. An air ambulance also attended, along with a volunteer critical care paramedic from the Suffolk Accident Rescue Service, but despite the best efforts of members of the public, police and medical personnel, the victim died at the scene.

The victim was later formally identified as Richard Hunt, aged 37 and from Ipswich. A Home Office post-mortem examination found that Mr Hunt had sustained seven stab wounds and that two of these - to the heart and left lung – had proved fatal.

The court heard that Cotterill and Mr Hunt were known to each other and had both previously been in a relationship with the same woman.

Mr Hunt had been in a longer-term relationship with her for approximately seven years - ending around 2016 - whereas her relationship with Cotterill had been more recent, beginning in about May 2023 and ending shortly before the events of Sunday 8 October.

At the time of the attack Cotterill was staying in Sutton Heath with his current partner, who he had been in a relationship with prior to his time living with Mr Hunt’s ex-partner.

The night before the murder (Saturday 7 October) Cotterill and his current partner had gone away for the night to Norwich and whilst at a hotel, she discovered messages on his phone from Mr Hunt’s ex-partner. She then left the hotel alone and drove home, taking Cotterill’s phone with her.

Once back in Sutton Heath, Cotterill’s current partner answered a call on his phone that was from Mr Hunt’s ex-partner. The two of them then traded insults and Mr Hunt’s ex-partner threatened to tell Mr Hunt about her relationship with Cotterill.

A series of unpleasant messages via Facebook and text then followed between Cotterill and his partner on one side, and Mr Hunt and his ex-partner on the other.

On the afternoon of Sunday 8 October, Cotterill’s partner drove back to Norwich to pick him up and they eventually both returned back to Sutton Heath. In the meantime, Mr Hunt’s ex-partner had driven to Mr Hunt’s home, purchased a ‘Good Luck’ card and then they travelled together to Sutton Heath to deliver the card to Cotterill and his partner.

When they arrived in Sutton Heath, they parked-up outside Cotterill’s partner’s house. Mr Hunt and his ex-partner then got out of the car and pinned the Good Luck card to the door.

Mr Hunt took a baseball bat from the car and began banging on the front windows with it. He also threw a child’s scooter on the roof of the bungalow. This all attracted the attention of some neighbours, who were then witness to some of the events that followed.

Cotterill exited the property via the back door and went to confront Mr Hunt. The two then began fighting outside the front of the property and Cotterill was struck in the face with the baseball bat. It was then alleged that Cotterill managed to get hold of the bat and Mr Hunt and his ex-partner were struck with it during the altercation.

The prosecution attested that Cotterill went back inside and armed himself with a large kitchen knife and at this point his partner dialled 999. Cotterill then went outside again, following which Mr Hunt sustained the fatal stab wounds.

The emergency services arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and Cotterill surrendered himself to police officers. He was then arrested and taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre for questioning and was subsequently charged with murder two days later.

Cotterill denied murdering Mr Hunt, but the prosecution countered this claim by saying that the action he chose to take went far beyond what was reasonable in the circumstances of this case.

The jury found him not guilty of murder but convicted him of the alternative offence of manslaughter. He was also found not guilty of a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm against Mr Hunt’s ex-partner.

Cotterill has been remanded in custody pending a sentencing hearing to be held at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 9 August.