A grieving mum has shared the moment her son was killed by a "cowardly" single punch to the head.
CCTV caught the moment Brandon Sillence, 25 of Bangor, launched an attack on Dean Skillin outside a hotel in Bangor, Wales on 19 September 2020.
Initially, Dean is seen trying to act as peacemaker to defuse an altercation between his cousin and another man.
Image: The killer walked up from behind and quickly struck Dean, 20, on the side of the head
The killer walked up from behind and quickly struck Dean, 20, on the side of the head, which caused him to fall to the ground.
Dean's mother, Becky White, who released the footage online, told Sky News: "I felt like I needed to share it because people minimise these one-punch crimes, and I wanted to show the world."
'No one wants to see their son die'
Initially, she had thought no one would see the video, which was used in court, and had a hard time making it public.
"No one wants to see the moment their son dies. Sharing the video brought it all back to me," she said, a described Dean as "a lovely person".
Image: Brandon Luke Sillence, 25, of Bangor was jailed for 10 years. Pic: North Wales Police
"He never resorted to violence, and he was so kind and thoughtful - he used to help me with his younger brother."
"You can clearly see by the video that the police have released, that Brandon 'Coward' Sillence punched my son from behind," she wrote online when she shared the footage.
"Dean couldn't even see it coming, killing him instantly because he hit him that hard and forcefully.
"What sort of coward hits someone from behind and leaves him on the floor, then walks away knowing the damage he had done?"
She added: "As the judge said, he was willing to punch his own shadow that night which resulted in my son's death, and affected our family lives forever."
Image: Dean Skillin was killed on a night out. Pic: Becky White
Dean's family are campaigning for tougher sentences for one-punch killers, calling for the offence to be treated as murder. A petition, started by the family, has been signed by more than 18,000 people.
"I want longer sentences if you kill someone," she told Sky News.
"They say the fist is not a weapon, but when it is those of a boxer, it is a weapon."
She continued: "Why is the law protecting violent men? We need a law specifically for this, that says if you kill someone unprovoked, you should get eight to 15 years."
Sillence was found guilty of manslaughter - and acquitted of murder - and jailed for 10 years for the attack, which also injured Dean's cousin Taylor Lock.
Image: Dean Skillin died from a single punch to the head. Pic: Becky White
The boxing enthusiast punched Dean so violently he was brain dead before he hit the ground.
At sentencing, the judge said he had impeded police and pretended to gag at an officer, reported NorthWalesLive.
"You were playing at being 'The big I am' (But) 30 seconds later you extinguished the life of a young man and injured another," he said.
YoWhatsGoodie on February 17th, 2022 at 19:46 UTC »
I got snuffed at a party one time and hit my head so hard on the concrete I started convulsing. Thankfully someone called 911 and I was rushed to the hospital. They almost cut open my skull to relieve the pressure before but the swelling went down. I still feel to this day that punch changed my mood/emotions. Either way I’m thankful to be alive.
ranhayes on February 17th, 2022 at 19:17 UTC »
This is how my brother died in 1995. He was trying to break up a drunken fight and got sucker punched. Hit his head on the street curb and never woke up.
DrunkenOlympian on February 17th, 2022 at 17:14 UTC »
This type of thing is scary. Buddy of mine was in the Marines and stationed at Camp Pendleton. He was out in Tijuana with some friends and there was a fight. He said his buddy was standing on the curb eating a street taco watching these drunk dudes go at it (he didn't know them) and somebody decided to punch him in the back of the head. He hit the curb on the way down and died on the spot.