Dean Sawyer death: Man jailed over friend's manslaughter
A man who admitted killing his friend and leaving him for two weeks in the flat they shared has been jailed for 17 years and two months.
Dean Sawyer was found in his bath in November 2017 about two weeks after he had been killed.
Jamie Lomax, 41, of Yate, South Gloucestershire, was charged with murdering the 43-year-old.
He admitted manslaughter on 14 May and was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court.
Mr Sawyer founded the Positive Causes project which works with homeless people.
His body was found with major head injuries in his flat in City Road, Bristol on 26 November.
Lomax had been living in the flat and working with Mr Sawyer, and was the last person to see him alive.
Mr Sawyer was last seen on CCTV with Jamie Lomax at an ATM at about 22:40 GMT on 12 November.
Police found Lomax had lied about his movements and sold some of Mr Sawyer's property after his death.
He also left a voicemail on Mr Sawyer's phone after he had killed him in an attempt to cover his tracks.
DI Mike Buck from Avon and Somerset police said: "In the end, the weight of the evidence was compelling.
"Our investigation showed that Jamie Lomax had become frustrated and angry with Dean.
"The CPS and police both accept his plea to manslaughter on the basis that he had not intended to cause Dean serious harm.
"He has only now accepted responsibility for his actions in November last year - actions which led to the death of a man he had known for many years and considered a friend."