After wasting his way through life, Anthony George has two decades in prison to mull over how he ended up a convicted murderer.
Feeding his 30 year long addiction through crime and petty theft, the 42-year-old said his drug abuse was partly to mask the trauma he'd experienced during childhood. It was that vice that led him to the streets of Bolton on a Saturday evening.
Out with a friend, downing vodka and smoking cannabis during that December day, CCTV footage from a convenience store captured George in increasing states of inebriation. He ended up at the home of Tyrone Williamson, an acquaintance he'd known for a number of years. Tyrone, 25, described as a 'Peter Pan' figure by his family, was well known in his community and much loved.
READ MORE : Man charged a year after 'beautiful' mum-of-three killed in hit-and-run
He was the 'boy who never grew up', who dreamed of having a family of his own. Their paths crossed in tragic circumstances that night, as a petty row escalated out of all proportion.
What exactly unfolded between the pair remains somewhat unclear. George, who had racked up 73 previous convictions between odd manual jobs, was 'off his head' and claimed to have no recollection, while Tyrone is not here to tell his story.
But it appeared that a mobile phone was the source of the feud. George was found with Tyrone's phone, and, unsurprisingly, was accused of stealing it as well as some money.
He was then thrown out of the house on Battenburg Road, one of a row of terraced properties. A heated exchange ensued in the street.
George's ex-girlfriend arrived and tried to reason with him. Even she didn't recognise him, such was his state of intoxication.
"Watch what’s going to happen to them," a raging George warned. "They are accusing me of taking the phone and the money."
The pair scuffled and Tyrone threatened to ‘one bomb’ George. But this petty feud intensified the moment George revealed he had a knife.
“If you had not armed yourself with a knife that day, Tyrone Williamson would not be dead and you would not be facing a life sentence," the judge told him, almost a year later the fatal attack, committed on December 11.
He had earlier threatened to ‘slit all their f******* throats’. During the fracas George reached for his blade.
In an instant, Tyrone's hopes and dreams would crumble. George stabbed him with severe force three times, once to the heart.
George, who did not hang around as the emergency services battled to save Tyrone's life, would be stabbed himself shortly after in an alleged act of retribution by others. For Tyrone's family, their world was falling apart in front of their eyes.
His younger sister Elise was with him, comforting him as he took his last breaths. “I remember getting that call and rushing over to him," she said.
"I held his head and stroked his hair, I told him I was there for him, I said 'I’m here Tyrone. I felt so helpless, like I let him down.
"I felt faint I couldn’t breathe. It’s destroyed our family. Our beautiful Tyrone has gone forever. Tyrone didn’t deserve this."
Despite being 'absolutely frantic' and 'screaming', she was able to alert her sister Laura Williamson. "As I arrived, the street was cordoned off and I saw them carrying my lifeless brother out and putting him into an ambulance - that was the last time I ever saw him," she recalled.
"I instantly felt like I was being suffocated. My whole world has fallen apart. My brother is gone and he is not coming back. On that night, a part of me was taken with my brother.
"It’s something me and my family will never be able to come to terms with. I had to explain to my children that their Uncle Tyrone had gone to heaven and they were absolutely devastated. I will never be the same person I was. This has ripped my world apart."
Laura Williamson, Tyrone's older sister, fondly remembered her brother. "He was such a caring, lovely boy, he was loved by everybody," she said in a victim impact statement. "He was the glue that kept our family together. He needed to look after us."
Tyrone was diagnosed with ADHD when he was at a young age and it made him more vulnerable, she said. But he was caring and would do anything for anyone.
"There was never a person he didn’t get on with. He had such a beautiful life, an absolutely beautiful smile and a contagious laugh. That laugh will never get out of my head.
"He just wanted everybody to be happy and get along, he would make friends and chat to people. He never saw the danger in anyone.
"He was a young 25-year-old. He needed taking care of. He was so playful and childlike and so innocent. All he wanted was to be loved and be accepted. You can simply describe him as ‘Peter Pan’, the boy who never grew up.
"If you knew him you would understand. He always wanted a family of his own. Having a child was something that was taken away from him at 25."
Though George will likely be in his 60s by the time he is released, he will have the chance to resume his life on the outside of the prison gates. That was a luxury he took away from Tyrone Williamson, when he thrust a knife into his heart.
Anthony George, of no fixed address, was found guilty of murder following a trial at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court. Yesterday, he was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 21 years.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- Pervert offered £400 for Manchester girl to have sex with him... and even upped his offer with a further vile request
- Horrifying moment man grabbed cat, 'cartwheeled' her in the air and smashed her to the floor
- 'I started a side hustle to top up my wage during the cost of living crisis'
- 'Not Covid' lurgy leaving Mancunians 'floored' and worse than when they had the virus
- Men found dead in mill fire 'likely to have been victims of modern slavery' as pictures emerge of devastating site
