News / St Pauls
Man jailed for killing friend in bath
A Yate man who killed his friend and left the body in their St Paul’s flat while he tried to cover his tracks has been jailed.
Jamie Lomax, 41, admitted to the manslaughter of Dean Sawyer at Bristol Crown Court on Monday and has been sentenced to 17 years and two months in prison.
Police found 43-year-old Sawyer’s body in the bath of the flat he shared with Lomax on City Road on November 26 last year. A post-mortem revealed he was the victim of a serious assault and had been killed two weeks earlier.
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Dean Sawyer – photo from Avon & Somerset Police
The murder investigation that followed discovered that Lomax had lied about his movements, sold some of Sawyer’s property after his death and even left voicemail on the victim’s phone after he had killed him in an attempt to cover his tracks.
It was Sawyer’s mobile phone data that became crucial in establishing his last movements, as police discovered that someone else was using the phone after his death.
Lomax, who had been living and working with Sawyer, was originally charged with murder in December 2017 but his manslaughter plea was later accepted.
Senior investigating officer detective inspector Mike Buck said: “Our investigation showed that Jamie Lomax had become frustrated and angry with Dean.
“The CPS and police both accept his plea to manslaughter on the basis that he had not intended to cause Dean serious harm. He has only now accepted responsibility for his actions in November last year – actions which led to the death of a man he had known for many years and considered a friend.”
In the last confirmed sighting of Sawyer, he was recorded on CCTV in company with Lomax, using a cash machine at Sainsbury’s in St Philip’s Causeay at about 10.40pm on Sunday, November 12.
DI Buck added: “In the end, the weight of the evidence was compelling. I’d like to thank the many people who came forward and provided evidence to my team, enabling us to establish the identity of Dean’s killer and secure his conviction.”
Tributes were paid to Sawyer, who founded the Positive Causes project in Old Market which works with the homeless and people overcoming addiction.
A tribute left to Dean Sawyer after his death
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