Drug-fuelled thug GUILTY of murder after telling victim 'payback's a bi**h' following champagne bottle attack

A drug-fuelled thug left a man unable to speak and having to be fed through a tube after a brutal attack which ultimately killed him. Shane Maloney, 26, died nearly 16 months after being hit over the head with a champagne bottle by Dean Hughes, who was under the influence of alcohol, crack cocaine, prescription methadone and diazepam.

"Never underestimate a short-a**e,” Hughes told Mr Maloney, as he lay unconscious in the aftermath of the attack. Payback's a bi***h," he added.

The pair were at a house in Leigh and had become involved in an argument over a mobile phone, Manchester Crown Court heard. Hughes, 46, previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm in relation to the attack and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

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But following Mr Maloney’s death, Hughes was hauled before the court again and accused of murder. He was found guilty after a trial and will be sentenced next week.

Mr Maloney suffered a ‘severe brain injury’ which left him with ‘severe cognitive and physical neurological impairments’. He had no speech, ‘a lack of understanding of verbal language’ and had to be fed through a tube, jurors heard. He never recovered and was placed in a rehabilitation unit where he was dependent on others for his care, prosecutor Michael Brady KC said.

Prosecutors told how paramedics and police were called to a house on Wigan Road in Leigh on the evening of November 8, 2019. First responders found Mr Maloney lying in a ginnel at the back of the property.

He was unconscious, covered in blood and had a large cut to his head. Hughes was also present at the address along with his girlfriend and Mr