Thug, 50, out of prison on licence is jailed for life for beating vulnerable 50-year-old man to death because he wrongly thought he was a paedophile

• Edward Fitzgerald murdered Raymond Dixon based on an unfounded rumour 
• He burst into the victim’s home in Bury, Greater Manchester, to attack him 
• Thug later bragged that he’d ‘beat the sh**’ out of the ‘vulnerable’ man
• Jailed for life after admitting the murder while he was on licence 

Edward Firzgerald (pictured) murdered a man he wrongly believed to be a paedophile while on licence and has been jailed for life 

A thug who battered a frail 50-year-old to death because he wrongly believed him to be a paedophile has been jailed for life.

Edward Fitzgerald, 50, admitted murdering Raymond Dixon on February 11 while he was out on licence, bragging after the killing that he’d ‘beat the sh**’ out of him.

Fitzgerald burst into Mr Dixon’s home in Bury, Greater Manchester, and attacked him, repeatedly kicking and punching him.

Lee Hopkinson, who told Fitzgerald the unfounded rumour about Mr Dixon being a paedophile, had recruited Fitzgerald and Anthony Dennison to help him rob Mr Dixon, described as a ‘frail’ and ‘vulnerable’ man.

Hopkinson, 30, and Dennison, 45, searched his home for valuables, taking a 40-inch TV, a PlayStation and further items in two bags.

The three addicts then left Mr Dixon to die, before arriving at Dean Murray’s home about a mile away and using his washing machine to try to get rid of forensic evidence from their clothes.

Mr Dixon’s neighbour raised the alarm after finding his friend face down and covered in blood.

Mr Dixon (left) was murdered in his own home. Lee Hopkinson (right) has been jailed for 13 year for manslaughter 

At Manchester Crown Court, Fitzgerald, of Bury, was given a life sentence to serve a minimum of 23 years.

Hopkinson, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 13 years after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Dennison, of no fixed address, received a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to robbery, and Murray, 50, of Bury, was jailed for two years after admitting perverting the course of justice.

Mr Dixon, who had mental health problems and was a long time amphetamine user, lived alone and had more recently made friends with his next door neighbour.

He told the neighbour about Hopkinson, who he said would regularly turn up at his home just before Mr Dixon’s benefits were paid.

Hopkinson would tell him that he had nowhere to go because his girlfriend had thrown him out, and they would share drugs purchased with the benefits.

The court heard that Mr Dixon was ‘vulnerable to exploitation’. Hopkinson had also asked Mr Dixon to help him rob someone he knew, so that he could act as ‘cover’.

Mr Dixon described Hopkinson as ‘ruthless’, and told his neighbour he was concerned for his own safety, if Hopkinson could do that to someone who he knew.

Judge Richard Mansell QC said: ‘This was a very prescient comment, because that is exactly what would happen on February 11, and would lead to him losing his life.

‘It is perfectly clear to me that you (Hopkinson) regarded Raymond Dixon as a soft touch, someone who you could exploit by turning up at his flat around the time he was paid his benefits and consuming drugs purchased with his money.

Dean Murray (left) was jailed after he attempted to pervert the course of justice and Anthony Dennison (right) pleaded guilty to robbery and was jailed for five years 

‘However, in your desperation for drugs, you went further and planned to rob him of everything of value in his home.’

Hopkinson claimed the reason he went to Mr Dixon’s home was because he had left some clothes there from a time he had stayed over at the property.

But the day before Mr Dixon was murdered, Hopkinson was already offering someone else the chance to buy his 40-inch TV and PlayStation 4.

He told the fence he would recognise the TV and gaming device, as he he had sold them to Mr Dixon in the first place.

While speaking to the fence, Hopkinson claimed that Mr Dixon was a paedophile, adding: ‘He’s a nonce and he’ll get what is coming to him.’

The court heard the claim was ‘nothing but a scurrilous rumour’, and Mr Dixon had previous convictions but none for sexual offences, or sexual offences against children.

Hopkinson then recruited Fitzgerald for his ‘muscle’ and Dennison as another pair of hands, and hatched a plan to rob Mr Dixon.

Judge Mansell said: ‘This was on any view a cowardly plan to rob a vulnerable man in his own home of what precious little of value he owned.

The three men spent 19 minutes inside Mr Dixon’s home. During that time, Fitzgerald launched a ‘sustained, vicious and wholly gratuitous beating’ on Mr Dixon, which proved fatal.

The judge told Fitzgerald: ‘I am satisfied that you delivered that savage beating to him because of what you believed, either from rumour or more likely from what Hopkinson had told you, that Raymond Dixon was a paedophile.’

The trio then arrived at Murray’s home to clean their blood-covered clothes. Fitzgerald was ‘bragging’ about what he had done, saying: ‘I have beat the s**t out of this guy, I’ve done him, I’ve done him.’

Hopkinson was also said to have shown ‘little remorse’, but Dennison was ‘ashen-faced’ and left ‘traumatised’ at what he witnessed. They later went to Fitzgerald’s home and took drugs.

In an interview with the police, Dennison said Fitzgerald ‘just kept hitting him, and hitting him, and hitting him’.

Dennison said: ‘It was horrible. I have never seen that much blood.’

Fitzgerald and Dennison both have more than 100 previous offences recorded against them. Fitzgerald, who was subject to licence supervision at the time, has previous convictions for drug dealing, burglary and a number of cases of domestic violence, including one where he kicked his partner in the face.

Hopkinson has more than 30 previous offences including incidents in prison, when he punched one officer and threw paint and urine at others.

Murray, a former chef who descended into drink and drug addictions, has one previous conviction for sexually assaulting a woman.

In a statement read in court on behalf of Mr Dixon’s mother, she said: ‘I know Raymond wasn’t an angel, but he had a good heart. I have good memories of Raymond, and he will always be in my heart.’

She said that her son wasn’t a good judge of character, and people would take advantage of him.

Mr Dixon’s mum added: ‘Those responsible will get visits from their family in prison, but we will never get a visit from Raymond again. We want them to reflect on what they have done and know how much we are hurting.’

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