Thug who kicked Morrisons shopper to death in front of terrified children near supermarket tills is locked up for 11 years
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A man who kicked a shopper to death in front of children at a Morrisons supermarket has been sentenced to 11 years detention.
Lee Monk, 20, attacked Nick Rogers, 26, near a till after following a long-running dispute over a debt.
He repeatedly punched his victim before delivering “a powerful kick to his head” as he lay on the floor.
The blow caused a catastrophic brain injury and Nick died in hospital the following day. His devastated mum said her son had been "wiped off the planet for no reason" as she spoke of feeling like her 'heart had been ripped out'.
Monk, of Wymondham, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter and was told yesterday he will spend 11 years in a young offenders institution.
(Image: PA Real Life/Norfolk Constabulary)
(Image: PA Real Life)
Judge Stephen Holt said: "This attack occurred in a very public area; there were children present.
"Children were heard screaming at the violence they witnessed."
The judge added: "It was vicious, cowardly and it was inflicted on a helpless man lying on the floor.
"He did not present any sort of risk to you. You could have walked away but you didn't."
Norwich Crown Court heard how the attack happened at 7.30pm on July 17 last year at the Morrisons store in Wymondham, Norfolk.
Nick had gone into the supermarket with a friend to buy water and fruit when he bumped into Monk.
(Image: PA Real Life)
A verbal dispute quickly escalated into a fight and CCTV recorded the entire incident.
Monk, of Wymondham, was convicted of the manslaughter after a two week trial in December.
Nick's mum Susan Rogers fought back tears as she read a victim impact statement to the court.
She said: "My heart felt as if it had been torn out of me."
Susan said she arrived at the supermarket to find police and an air ambulance outside.
She added: "My beautiful boy died right there on a cold supermarket floor. I watched as his life faded away right in front of me."
The devastated mum said she hoped the thug whose deadly punch and kick killed her son “rots in jail” after he was handed an 11-year sentence.
(Image: PA Real Life)
Sue, 45, of Wymondham, Norfolk, said: "I will never feel sorry for Lee or understand what happened that day, but I hope I hope he rots in jail and I can now get some closure and find some peace.
“When the judge said he had got 11 years I looked at the sky, kissed the air and said ‘that’s for my baby’.
“I really felt I had done my boy proud, I’ve done the best I can for him.”
Before the fatal attack on July 17 last year, Nick had turned his life around, losing an incredible 10 stone in weight and training to be a bouncer.
(Image: PA Real Life/Nick Ansell)
His mum added: “Lee got what he deserved. I feel joyous. I feel for the first time I have got some justice for my boy.
“As his mum, I feel proud of the outcome. I thought he would get five years. People shouldn’t be able to do that to someone and get away with it, and the 11-year sentence shows you you will not.
“Nick went to Morrisons to buy some water, but lost his life.
“You always think, as a mum, that your children might be hurt in a car accident, or at a nightclub, but there was never a time when I thought I would have to look out for my children in the supermarket.
“Nick had a life, he counted and he has just been wiped from the face of the planet for no reason - and that is heartbreaking.”
(Image: PA Real Life)
This was the last conversation Sue - who will never forget it - had with her son.
She recalled, tearfully: “Nick walked to the end of the garden and called back to me, ‘Can you wash my shirt while I’m out?’
“I said, ‘How old are you? Wash your own bloody shirt,’ before saying, ‘Of course I’ll do it.’ He laughed and left.
“That was the last conversation we had. My lasting memory is of his smiling face.”
Tragically, two hours later, Sue’s phone rang and everything changed.
She said: “My heart felt like it had fallen from my chest. That feeling has not gone away and will stay with me forever.”
Speaking about the moment she rushed to the supermarket to see her son, she told: "I hurtled out of the car and into the supermarket, desperate to be with my boy.
“Straight away, I spotted him, lying on the floor by the customer service desk, receiving CPR.
“All I remember is having to get to him, wanting to hold him and make him better, but it was too late.”
The family held his funeral at Colney Wood burial ground on the outskirts of Norwich, before he was cremated at Earlham Cemetery.
Around 120 people paid their respects to Nick. His beloved bulldog, Winston, led the funeral procession, before Charlie Puth’s, See You Again, played him into the service and friends paid their respects by writing on the casket.