Jason D'Aguilar murder: Two guilty of unprovoked attack

Two men have been found guilty of beating a football fan to death in an unprovoked attack.

Jason D'Aguilar was repeatedly kicked and punched in Birmingham after the UEFA Euro 2020 England v Croatia match at Wembley in June 2021.

Jordan Haines and Ben Wiggett were found guilty of murder at Birmingham Crown Court.

West Midlands Police said Haines had sniggered when shown footage from the night.

They are due to be sentenced on 19 December.

Wiggett, 29, of Middle Drive, Cofton Hackett, handed himself in to police the day after the attack on 13 June and told officers he had drunk up to nine pints of alcohol that day, the force said.

He said he believed a bottle had been thrown at his group of friends by a group that included Mr D'Aguilar.

Witnesses told the court the attack was "completely unprovoked".

Haines, 27, of Hatherton Grove, Weoley Castle, was also found guilty of possession of a class A drug, namely cocaine.

A third man was found not guilty of affray.

Following the conviction, the victim's family said: "Jason was and will always be the most amazing daddy. A cherished son, a soulmate to his childhood sweetheart, a loved brother, uncle, and friend.

"Our family was ripped apart the day Jason's life was cruelly taken.

"Jason's beautiful smile lit up any room, his legacy will live on in his precious two children. They will always know how daddy was their hero."

Det Insp Michelle Thurgood added: "This was a brutal attack on a man who was trying to enjoy a night out with his friends.

"It's not clear exactly what triggered the violence but we've not found any evidence that Mr D'Aguilar did anything to provoke what happened."

Correction 5th January: An earlier version of this article reported that Jordan Haines had sniggered after being shown CCTV footage of the attack and this has been amended to instead make clear that he sniggered after being shown other footage from the night.

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