A man who falsely portrayed himself as a Good Samaritan following the murder of a model has been sentenced to life in prison.
Bhekisani Matabiswana, aged 27, fatally attacked 36-year-old Luke Harden shortly after meeting at a Halloween event at Rosemount Working Men’s Club in Stacksteads, Lancashire, on October 31 the previous year. Harden passed away on Newchurch Road in Bacup, Lancashire, just after midnight on November 1.
Matabiswana was apprehended at Manchester Airport two days later while trying to escape to South Africa. Despite denying the murder charge, he was convicted at Preston Crown Court last week. On Monday, he received a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years and six months at the same court.
During the trial, it emerged that Harden, an employee of Nemesis Model Agency in Manchester, was scheduled to DJ at the Halloween party with others, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Matabiswana, who was also present at the event with his friends, carried out a vicious and cowardly assault on Harden while he was defenseless on the ground after both had left the venue, as described by the police as a “frenzied and cowardly attack.”
Instead of seeking emergency help, Matabiswana used Harden’s phone to inform his family and friends that he had discovered him injured. Lancashire Police’s Det Insp Pete MacDonald labeled it as an attempt to falsely present himself as a kind-hearted passerby who had come across an injured individual on the street.
The assault on Harden was sudden, swift, and brutal, leaving him with no chance to defend himself, as previously detailed in court.
Harden suffered severe injuries including brain swelling, facial bruising, fractures to multiple facial bones, and other injuries leading to his tragic demise due to blunt force trauma to the head and neck, as revealed by the post-mortem examination.
In statements, Harden’s girlfriend described him as a kind-hearted individual, while his father expressed his deep bond with his son. Harden’s mother recounted her anguish at losing her son in such a horrific manner.
Reflecting on the trial’s distressing details, Harden’s girlfriend mentioned the lasting emotional scars and trauma inflicted on her and her family due to the tragic