A United Kingdom court on Monday heard how a man claimed to have killed a homeless beggar because he was pestering him for money.
Sergiusz Meges, 29, was found dead in a pedestrian underpass in Norwich on June 10, 2015.
A post-mortem examination recorded he had suffered injuries ‘in keeping with an impact to the lower chest’ that could have been a ‘kick, stamp or possibly a forceful punch to the left side of the lower chest’ – but may also have been a fall, reports Metro UK.
The medical cause of death was given as haemorrhaging and splenic lacerations.
Doorman Lee Copeland said he was on a night out in Norwich when he was approached outside a nightclub by a man he had not met before on June 17, 2015.
The man asked Mr Copeland for a lighter and asked if he was having a good night, he told Monday’s hearing in Norwich.
“He said, “I’m making the most of it as I will be banged up soon”,’ said Mr Copeland.
“He said, “You know the guy in the underground? I killed him. I kicked him in the head”.
“I asked him why he had done that. He said because he was pestering him for money.” Mr Copeland, who said he had been drinking that night, said the man had also been drinking.
He said he had not called police immediately.
“I didn’t know whether to believe him. I didn’t want it to escalate. I didn’t want conflict at that time.”
Mr Copeland said he told police later that day, and was unable to pick the man out of a police identity parade at a later date.
The body of the Polish national was found by two homelessness prevention workers who were carrying out welfare checks at places where rough sleepers were known to sleep and beg.
He was not wearing trousers, and paramedics had to cut through six layers of clothing before they got to his chest to try to treat him.
Mr Meges, described by GP Sean Holt – who had previously met him – as a ‘chronic alcoholic’, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The inquest heard Mr Meges had fractured ribs on his left side and no defensive injuries, possibly as he was “severely intoxicated” at the time.