Jailed: Dangerous Telford killer who strangled man so hard he broke four bones in his neck
A dangerous killer who strangled a man so hard he broke four bones in his neck has been jailed for 11 and a half years.
David Lane, aged 48, throttled Paul Wilkins as he gasped “I can’t breathe” during a fight in his cousin’s front garden in Telford.
We have launched free newsletters for Shrewsbury, Telford and Mid Wales. Sign up to the newsletter for your area here: plus.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2026/02/06/sign-up-now-to-our-new-shropshire-star-newsletters-all-for-free
Mr Wilkins, 58, was rushed to hospital and taken to intensive care after the incident in Westerdale Close, Doseley on April 5, 2022.
But days later, medics informed his family he was brain-dead and his life support was switched off.
Mr Wilkins died on April 10 with his daughter Leah holding his hand.
Birmingham Crown Court was told that late in the afternoon on April 5, Lane was with his cousin.
He knew that there was “tension” between her and Mr Wilkins, her former partner.
Mr Wilkins attended the address and Lane went out, “prepared to involve himself in a confrontation”.
Lane was stabbed twice in the leg with a Stanley knife by Mr Wilkins, and it was accepted that in the initial stages of the fight, he was acting in self-defence.
However, Lane gained the upper hand over Mr Wilkins, and there became a point when he used an unreasonable amount of force.
Lane was said to be sounding “angry” on CCTV footage of the incident, and he strangled Mr Wilkins for “several minutes”.
“Unrelenting” Lane kept hold of Mr Wilkins's neck after he fell unconscious and his face turned blue before police arrived on the scene.
Mr Wilkins went into cardiac arrest and a pathologist said the lack of oxygen caused permanent brain damage.
Due to Covid restrictions, Mr Wilkins’s loved ones were not permitted to see him until it was almost time to say their final goodbyes.
'The most painful moment of my life'
Mr Wilkins was a father of daughter Leah and son Bradley. His daughter read a harrowing victim impact statement, describing the moment she played a farewell voice note to him from his son, who couldn’t bear to be there as his father's life slipped away.
Fighting back tears, she told the court: “It was the most painful moment of my life. It had the whole room in tears.
“Dad fought to stay with us. It took an hour [after the life support was switched off] before he fully let go.
