Man Guilty Of Church Organist Killing

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

A man accused of killing Sheffield church organist Alan Greaves has been found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

Ashley Foster had been charged with murdering Mr Greaves, 68, but a court decided he had not intended to kill the lay preacher.

Foster's friend Jonathan Bowling, with whom he was accused of carrying out the attack, had earlier admitted murder.

A jury at Sheffield Crown Court was told that Mr Greaves' injuries were similar to those found on victims of high speed car crashes.

Ashley Foster and Jonathan Bowling

The retired social worker and dedicated community volunteer died three days after being found lying in the street a few hundred yards from his home in High Green area of the city.

Bowling, 22, admitted last month that he had killed Mr Greaves, but Foster, also 22, denied murder. He was found guilty of manslaughter after a three-week trial.

The pair, described in court as "virtually brothers", were caught on CCTV walking behind Mr Greaves seconds before he was smashed over the head with a pickaxe handle and with another weapon which has never been found.

Mr Greaves was carrying a briefcase containing sheet music to play at his local church Christmas midnight mass as he had done every year for 40 years, but the police found nothing had been taken from him by his attackers.

Bowling and Foster had been drinking during the day and prosecutors had claimed that they went out to look for a victim.

Prosecutor Robert Smith QC, told the jury: "If it had not been Mr Greaves it would have been someone else."

The court heard that both men had talked about how "sick" they were, but the jury found that only Bowling had intended to kill the victim.

Foster told the court: "Jonno [Bowling] started running up towards the man, he pulled out a pick axe handle. I shouted 'no' to stop him doing it.

"He jumped off the ground and smacked that man on the head. He hit him hard. All you could hear was a big bang sound," he said.

Foster handed himself into police after being recognised by family and friends, but said he was a "witness" to the murder and he and his partner Natalie Evers claimed they were frightened of Bowling.

The jury heard Foster has never had a proper job, although he did casual work at a local farm.

The pair had known each other since their early teens when Bowling's father was in a relationship with Foster's mother.

After the verdict was clarified, Mr Greaves' widow Maureen sobbed in the public gallery, where she had sat throughout the trial, and was comforted by members of her family.

Speaking outside court, Mrs Greaves said: "Alan was a man driven by love and compassion and he would not want any of us to hold on to feelings of hate and unforgiveness.

"So, in honour of Alan and in honour of the God we both love, my prayer is that this story doesn't end today.

"My prayer is that Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster will come to understand and experience the love and kindness of the God who made him in his own image and that God's great mercy will inspire them to true repentance."

Both men will be sentenced on Friday.

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