Padiham man Wayne Dawson jailed for killing childhood friend

Lancashire Police officers were called to Coronation Avenue at 10.33am on November 25, 2021, to reports of a sudden death.

Stephen Macro, 57, had been found by his sister unresponsive on his sofa and was later pronounced deceased by emergency services.

Defendant Wayne Dawson – a man Stephen had been friends with since their school days and someone he had taken in as a lodger – was arrested on suspicion of murder later the same day after returning to the victim’s home while detectives were carrying out enquiries.

He was later released on bail while the investigation to establish what led to Stephen’s death continued.

Enquiries showed that Dawson and Stephen had been socialising at a mutual friend’s house in Cotton Street, Padiham, the previous night. They were asked to leave after becoming involved in an altercation with each other.

CCTV footage showed that as they walk away from that property Dawson kicked out at Stephen.

During the walk back to Stephen’s home the victim is further assaulted by Dawson.

At 10.25pm while they were on West View Terrace a witness reported hearing raised voices and the sound of somebody being hit and then somebody else – now established to be Dawson – saying ‘get up and fight me’.

At 10.26pm Stephen was led half on the pavement and half on the floor. A passing vehicle stopped to check to see if he was OK, and Dawson reassured the driver there was nothing untoward.

CCTV evidence established that while Stephen was lay prone on the floor, he was kicked multiple times while being verbally abused. Stephen could be heard to plead with Dawson to stop kicking him.

At around midnight, a witness reported seeing Stephen led on the sofa with a scratch to his forehead, a bust nose and a deep cut to the back of his head. When she asked the victim if he was OK, Dawson answered on his behalf on several occasions stating that Stephen had fallen over a garden wall.

A Home Office post-mortem examination concluded that Stephen died as a result of multiple abdominal and scalp injuries.

Dawson, 57, of Burnley Road, Padiham, was later charged with Stephen’s murder.

He appeared before a judge at Preston Crown Court on November 30, last year, and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. That plea was deemed acceptable by the prosecution and the police following a comprehensive review of the evidence available.

At a sentencing hearing today (February 28), Dawson was jailed for five years and three months by Judge Robert Altham.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Stephen’s sister, Debbie, said: “On Thursday 25th November 2021 at 10 minutes past 10 I found my brother Stephen dead on his settee full of blood. I knew he was dead. I tried to do CPR, I really tried. There was only 10 months in age between us. We went through school together in the same class. The image I saw that day will stay with me forever it has changed me dramatically.

“I have known Wayne Dawson for 45 years; he was a fiend of Stephen’s. Stephen put him up and fed him and helped him when no other person would. This has made me cautious of trusting people.

“I saw Stephen three to four times a week, on a Saturday morning I still expect to see him come walking through my garden gate. He would ring regularly, and he only lived 400 yards down the road. I miss him.

“I now have a photo of Stephen in my living room and on Saturdays I turn him round so he can watch the football on TV, and I talk to him all through it.”

DCI Allen Davies, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “This is a tragic case where Stephen Macro has lost his life at the hands of a man he thought was a friend.

“Stephen helped Dawson in his time of need by putting a roof over his head. Dawson repaid this kindness by carrying out a cowardly attack on Stephen while he lay defenceless on the ground.

“He then played down the seriousness of Stephen’s injuries to concerned members of the public, thereby preventing Stephen from receiving medical help.

“No sentence will ever make up for the taking of a life. My thoughts remain with Stephen’s family and I hope they will be able to take some comfort from knowing Dawson has been convicted and held accountable for his actions on November 24, 2021.”