Man jailed for nearly 7 years for killing father

A man who itted to the manslaughter of his 79-year-old father has been jailed for 6 years and 10 months.

Matias Gonzalez died in hospital two days after his son pushed past him at the top of the stairs of their home shortly after 22:00 GMT on 15 December after they had both been drinking.

Daniel Gonzalez, 41, from Oxford Road in Garsington, Oxfordshire, called the emergency services and was found with his father's blood on his hands from trying to help him when they arrived.

The judge, Mr Justice Dexter Dias, told the court the case was "difficult and complex" and said remorse was "a mitigating factor".

Oxford Crown Court had heard Gonzalez had drunk half a litre of brandy and pushed past his father on the stairs, causing him to fall.

"He said he felt betrayed by his father as he had been looking for the man who owed him £1,500," Mr Robinson said.

Gonzalez then called the emergency services, telling the call handler: "I tried to get down the stairs and pushed past him and he fell.

"I didn't push him down the stairs."

Gonzalez, of Oxford Road, Garsington, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

A charge of murder was not proceeded with after the prosecution offered no evidence.

Andrew Selby KC, defending, said Gonzalez was remorseful for his actions.

"Mr Gonzalez always accepted he pushed past his father. It was difficult for Mr Gonzalez to accept that he was responsible for the death of his own father," he said.

"That sense of responsibility and remorse will stay with him beyond the prison sentence he serves.

"The remorse is genuine."

Prosecuting barrister Danny Robinson KC told the court Gonzales had sounded "intoxicated and distressed" on a call to the paramedics who found his father unconscious and "in a pool of blood".

Gonzalez had blood on his hands from an attempt to assist his father himself.

Justice Dias said Mr Gonzalez had been taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital but due to his injuries, "regrettably, there was no chance of recovery" and he had been pronounced dead on the morning of 17 December.

Gonzalez had declined speaking to a nurse, stating "my life is pretty much over anyway".

The court heard that he had told a prison officer on 19 December: "I'm happy with what I have done, happy to be in prison, there is nothing wrong with me."

Justice Dias said the relationship between father and son had been "difficult and dysfunctional".

"This was in my view, a flawed household," but added that it "must be ed" the deceased "continued to give his son a roof over his head".

He said he found remorse was "a mitigating factor" and that "one of the best indicators of remorse was that [Gonzalez] took immediate steps to seek help".

Mr Gonzalez's other son Matthew, who is a building manager and lives in the US, was present for the sentencing.

In a personal statement read by the prosecution, Mr Gonzalez said his brother had taken away his "best friend" and that that he had lost "everything to do with my family in England".

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