Jamie Lewis, 25, from Bensham Lane, has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years for the 2023 murder in Canvey Island of Matt Portland.
Murderer: Jamie Lewis, from Bensham Lane, Croydon
Father-of-two Portland was 42. On Friday, February 3 last year he intervened in a dispute on the door of the Haystack public house at the Essex resort, after an argument broke out between door staff and customers who had been refused entry.
Portland was stabbed twice in the neck and was pronounced dead in the early hours of the following morning.
Lewis was arrested in Croydon three days later, when he was charged with murder and possession of a bladed article.
The murder trial jury unanimously found him guilty in October. He was handed a life sentence in court last week.
A statement from Matt Portland’s family said: “We will never heal from our loss of Matt or from the trauma that we have endured. The children will never get their daddy back, a loss of a son and a brother, but we will hold on to the memories we have and that Matt’s spirit will always live on with the children.”
Detective Inspector Kev Hughes, who led the investigation, said: “My thoughts today are with Matt’s family and friends, the compassionate manner in which they have supported each other and conducted themselves throughout the case has been testament to their strength of character.
“Matt was acting as peacemaker. He was simply trying to protect and assist with a situation and tragically this intervention cost him his life.
“The evidence identified Mr Lewis was carrying and then used a knife in the attack on Matt, his cowardly actions will now see him spend a significant amount of time in prison.
“Whilst I know no custodial sentence will ever bring Matt back, I hope this important milestone will help his family and friends move forward.”
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
