This is the momement a killer is caught on video collecting a pizza after fatally attacking his friend – with his trainer soaked in blood.
Shocking video shows Caine Lonsdale collecting the takeaway at a garden gate after murdering ‘gentle giant’ Jonathan Dittia in the victim’s flat.
Lonsdale, 34, had earlier been seen arriving at the address before ordering the pizza at around 7pm.
He was seen emerging to collect the pizza at 7.26pm and standing outside to eat it, his white trainer cvoered in blood. By then, 40-year-old Mr Dittia lay dead or dying inside the flat at Clifton, Nottingham.
Earlier, alcoholic Lonsdale had been recorded arriving at the flat. A security camera also recorded police later arriving to arrest him after the killer dialled 999 at 8.30pm on the evening of the attack last September.
Lonsdale told the police call handler he had killed his friend by stomping on his head. He said what had happened was a ‘blur’.
A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Dittia had suffered serious head injuries from repeated kicks, stamps and possible blows from a blunt instrument.
Jailing Lonsdale for life on Friday for the murder, Judge James Sampson said he must serve at least 15 years before he is eligible for parole for the ‘merciless and sustained’ attack.
Cain Lonsdale calmly called police around 90 minutes after the murder
The killer is seen collecting a pizza from the garden gate with his trainer covered in blood
The killer stands eating the takeaway meal with his right trainer red with blood
Prosecutor Jeremy Janes said Lonsdale and Mr Dittia, who was vulnerable and had learning difficulties, were friends and would see each other regularly to drink together, each taking it in turns to spend their benefit money on alcohol.
Nottingham Crown Court heard a neighbour reported hearing banging lasting around 10 minutes just before 6pm, which Judge Sampson said must have been when Lonsdale carried out the fatal attack.
After murdering his friend, Lonsdale went to his father’s address and said: ‘Ey up dad, I have killed a mate, or I think I have’ before returning to the flat and calling 999 after his father told him to.
When police arrived, Lonsdale, also of Clifton, was outside the property and was ‘calm’ and did not seem drunk, although it was accepted by Judge Sampson that he had been intoxicated at the time of the attack.
Mr Dittia was found in his living room. As well as bruises, wounds and abrasions to his head, neck and chest, the victim had a ligature mark around his neck consistent with a phone charging cable that Lonsdale had used to ‘throttle’ him, Mr Janes said.
Despite the efforts of officers and paramedics, Mr Dittia was pronounced dead a short time later.
In a victim impact statement, Doris Brown, Mr Dittia’s grandmother, said her grandson was a ‘gentle person with a heart of gold’.
Defending, Richard Thatcher said Lonsdale had an IQ of 72 and a ‘long-standing and chronic’ alcohol problem that could have ‘impaired logical thought’.
He told the court: ‘Whatever it was that triggered that behaviour, he had neither the wisdom nor the sobriety to deal with it.’
Jonathan Dittia in a photo issued by Nottinghamshire Police after friend Caine Lonsdale was sentenced for his murder on Friday
Sentencing, Judge Sampson told Lonsdale the attack took place in the victim’s home, where he should have been safe.
The judge added: ‘You used your shod foot as a weapon and the sustained nature of the attack must have resulted in mental and physical harm to Mr Dittia.’
Lonsdale pleaded guilty to murder at a cout appearance in February.
Detective Chief Inspector Ruby Burrow, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
‘Jonathan was loved by his family and described as a gentle giant by those who knew him.
‘His life was taken away in the most brutal fashion by Caine Lonsdale.
‘The attack took place within Jonathan’s own home – a place he should have been safe.
‘Lonsdale inflicted a senseless and relentless attack on Jonathan, causing catastrophic injuries which ultimately led to his death.
‘Detectives carried out a meticulous investigation to piece together exactly what happened that day.
‘Today’s sentence means Lonsdale will spend a considerable part of his life behind bars and I hope this gives Jonathan’s loved ones some comfort.’
