Murderer's 23-year sentence 'not unduly lenient'

A murderer who stabbed a teenager in the chest outside a bar will not have his prison sentence increased, Court of Appeal judges have ruled.

Thomas Dures, from Aughton in Lancashire, went on the run after attacking 19-year-old Matthew Daulby. It happened after two groups clashed outside an Ormskik bar on 29 July 2023.

He eventually handed himself in at a police station in Greece, and was jailed after being convicted of murder at Preston Crown Court.

The Attorney General challenged the 23-year sentence as being too lenient. But, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, Lord Justice Edis, Lord Justice Jeremy Baker and His Honour Judge St John-Stevens decided the original sentence should stand.

Daulby was found with serious injuries by police, who were called to Railway Road shortly after midnight on 29 July 2023 after reports of a fight, Lancashire Police said.

The victim was taken to hospital where he later died from a single stab wound to the chest.

Dures, who also stabbed two other men during the altercation, fled the scene after hearing the sirens of an approaching police car.

He sent voice notes to his friends before leaving the area in a taxi and then went on the run for 18 months.

He eventually handed himself in at a police station in Greece.

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