A BRENTFORD man has been jailed for manslaughter following a re-trial.

Serhiy Pelykh, 24, of North Road, was convicted of the manslaughter of Stepan Suslyk, 40, of Greenford, on Thursday, June 17.

He was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, June 18, to five years' imprisonment.

This was a re-trial, as the initial trial in February 2020 failed to reach a verdict.

An investigation was launched after police were called on June 16 2019 to a hospital where Suslyk had been taken by paramedics, suffering from a head injury.

He died two days later, on June 18, having never regained consciousness.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of death was a result of blunt trauma to the head.

An investigation was launched and established that Suslyk and Pelykh had spent the evening of June 16 at the Ukrainian Social Club in Holland Park.

Witness accounts state that the two – who did not know each other prior to that night - left together in the early hours of the morning after Pelykh had agreed to help Suslyk find a way to get to his home in Greenford.

As they walked along Holland Park Avenue, a disagreement started that escalated with Pelykh punching Suslyk in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

Pelykh did not call an ambulance and as passers-by began to gather, he claimed that the victim had fallen over having drunk too much.

About an hour later a taxi was called to take Suslyk home.

Pelykh also travelled in the taxi with Suslyk, before leaving him with his housemate.

When police first spoke to Pelykh during the early stages of the investigation, he denied all knowledge of the events.

He was subsequently arrested on June 20, on suspicion of murder.

He argued that he had acted in self-defence, but he was charged and subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

Detective Inspector Maria Green, a homicide detective from the Met's Specialist Crime said: "The death of Stepan Suslyk was tragic, unnecessary and wholly avoidable.

"All he wanted to do was get home after spending the evening socialising with friends.

"Instead Serhiy Pelykh's violent actions have robbed a wife of her husband and two children of their father.

"I hope that this conviction has brought some justice for Stepan and his family, but of course it will never bring him back."