Killers jailed for total of 46 years over 'savage' murder of beloved Sheffield dad with 'heart of gold'

Anthony Sumner, a ‘loved’ son, brother, dad, grandad and grandson, suffered fatal injuries after being stabbed and attacked with a machete during a violent assault carried out on Windy Lane in the Manor area of Sheffield on July 29, 2021.

Mr Sumner’s family have been waiting 20 long months for his killers to be brought to justice, and were present in court on Friday, March 31, when Richard Sampson, aged 50, of Prince of Wales Road, near Woodthorpe, Sheffield and a 17-year-old boy were sentenced for his murder.

In a moving statement read to the court, Mr Sumner’s mother said: “This was heartbreaking, my children should be the ones burying me, not me burying my son.”

She continued: “I can’t believe my son’s life was taken in this brutal way…my Anthony was no angel, but he had a heart of gold, and would not hurt anyone.”

Sheffield Crown Court was told how the attack on Mr Sumner was carried out by the boy and Sampson, with Sampson armed with a machete, while the boy wielded a knife. The pair cornered a defenceless Mr Sumner in a garden, and set about inflicting the knife wounds that ultimately cost him his life.

Sending the pair to custody, Judge Peter Kelson KC said: “The circumstances and ferocity of this attack were both savage and cowardly.

He continued: “I’m satisfied, on the evidence, that you set out to find Anthony Sumner that night, you followed him for a period of time…this was an ambush.

There was a degree of planning, or pre-meditation, for an offence of violence.”

“There were two of you…you chased your victim, you cornered him and attacked him when he was unarmed and defenceless.”

Judge Kelson jailed Sampson for life, to serve a minimum of 28 years, and the boy was told he must serve at least 18 years’ detention at His Majesty’s pleasure.

Both Sampson and the boy were convicted following trials at Sheffield Crown Court. The defendants both went on trial in June 2022, at the conclusion of which, the boy was found guilty of Mr Sumner’s murder, and an additional charge of possessing an offensive weapon. Jurors failed to reach a verdict in Sampson’s case, however, and prosecutors successfully sought a retrial, or second trial, which began on Monday, March 20, 2023.

The jury of six men and six women in Sampson’s second trial reached a unanimous guilty verdict yesterday afternoon (Thursday, March 30), following 25 hours and 55 minutes of deliberation.

Discharging the jury in the second trial, Judge Kelson thanked them for their ‘fortitude’ and ‘dedication’.

Judge Kelson described jury service as the last remaining form of ‘conscripton,’ adding: “You get asked to come to court and get plunged into heavy stuff. You read about it in the papers but don’t expect it [jury service] will happen to you.”

In tributes paid after his death, Mr Sumner was described as a ‘loved’ son, brother, dad, grandad and grandson.

A note on flowers laid at the crime scene said he would “always be loved and missed”.