TWO friends who brutally murdered a man during three-hours of sickening violence - some of which they filmed - have been jailed for life.

Craig Barstow, 31 and Craig Fletcher, 33, both pleaded guilty to the Boxing Day murder of 35-year-old Gavin Barnes at previous hearings at Teesside Crown Court.

The pair were back in court for sentencing on Monday where the full horror of their actions was relayed to court.

Mr Barnes, who had spent Christmas night sleeping on the streets in Middlesbrough after falling out with his girlfriend, ended up in Fletcher’s flat on Boxing Day morning as he was looking for somewhere to charge his phone.

The Northern Echo:

Gavin Barnes was brutally murdered


The pair did not know each other but spent the afternoon drinking amicably in the flat on Eston High Street.

Things took a violent turn when Barstow arrived later in the afternoon and mobile phone footage captured the brutality which was meted out on Mr Barnes.

The public gallery was cleared due to the shocking nature of the footage which showed Mr Barnes being repeatedly kicked, stamped on and slapped about the face by Barstow whilst Fletcher films the attacks.

At one point, Barstow repeatedly slams a door against Mr Barnes’s prone body whilst Fletcher jokes that behind the door would need cleaning due to the amount of blood spilt.

The Northern Echo:

Craig Barstow savagely attacked Gavin Barnes

At points throughout the prolonged assault, both men are heard laughing and making jokes about the violence being inflicted on Mr Barnes who is unable to defend himself.

They joke about Mr Barnes’s ribs being broken and about the fact he is being kicked by steel toe-capped rigger boots.

At several points, Fletcher can be heard joking that the flat ‘looks like a murder scene’ and towards the end of the 11-minute footage he says; “I video recorded a murder.”

Throughout the attack, Barnes makes guttural noises of pain and is unable to speak.

The film ends with Fletcher proclaiming; “That’s how we do it”.

Although the sickening clip is just 11-minutes long, statements from neighbours in the flats indicated that the violence against Mr Barnes lasted for around three hours before the police were eventually called by a neighbour at 8.32pm.

Paramedics worked on Mr Barnes for more than an hour in the hallway of Fletcher’s flat but he was pronounced dead at 9.20pm.

A post-mortem examination found he had 105 injuries covering most of his body including bone fractures and broken ribs.

He died from head injuries.

Mitigating, the court heard that Barstow had recently found out that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer and he was self-medicating for anxiety.

The court was told that both men, who had been drinking at the time of the attack, were now remorseful and the assault had not been pre-planned.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Bourne- Arton told the pair: "You essentially degraded him, you were taking pleasure in what you were doing, you were taking pleasure in the pain you inflicted on him and you continued kicking even though you knew he was seriously injured."

Barstow, of Steele Crescent, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to life with a 26-and-a-half years minimum term.

Barstow, who had been on bail at the time for robbing a takeaway driver at knifepoint was also sentenced to three years, to run concurrently, for that offence which took place on May 25, 2018.

Fletcher, of High Street, Eston, was given a life sentence, with a 25 years minimum term.

The Northern Echo:

Craig Fletcher filmed parts of the attack whilst laughing and joking about the pain being inflicted on their victim

Terry Hayes, 30, of Buttermere Road, Grangetown, admitted playing a role in the May robbery and he was brought into the same courtroom as Barstow for sentencing.

He was given three and a half years in prison for the robbery.

Speaking outsided the court, family liason officer Kay McGeehan read a statement on behalf of Mr Barnes's parents, Rod and Melissa.

She said: "We are glad these two heartless, murdering thugs have been taken off the streets to make the area a safer place for people to live in, even though it will not bring our much-loved son Gavin back.

"Gavin was our only son, his sister's only brother and dad to his five children.

"Our lives will remain empty of his presence but we are grateful that justice has been served.

"We would like to thank Cleveland Police for all their hard work and making sure there was a conviction."

The Cleveland force works with North Yorkshire Police to form one Major Investigation Team and Detective Inspector Fiona Wynne described the murder as "a particularly brutal attack".

She added: "Gavin had sought help from Craig Fletcher that day and could not possibly have foreseen the violence he was to suffer at the hands of these two men."

Det Insp Wynne said the pair only pleaded guilty at a late stage when it clearly became apparent that the evidence against them was overwhelming.

She added: "The sentences passed down today reflect the horrific nature of this assault."