A man initially charged with murder, but who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the unlawful killing of Marco Perinchief, told the court of his remorse after he intervened during the victim’s attack on his son.

Ian Bascome, 49, was sentenced in the Supreme Court to three years’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, after the prosecution accepted there were complex factors involved in the death of Mr Perinchief, also 49, at Clyde Best Lane on the morning of March 25, 2023.

As he prepared to pass sentence yesterday, Puisne Judge Alan Richards told the court: “I am not aware of any local cases that really compare with this one.”

He added: “In my judgment, this case is exceptional for a number of reasons.”

The court heard that Mr Perinchief, who had been fired from a job at Bascome’s farm, died after the father grappled with him in the wake of an attack on his son, Iamzi, with a machete.

A pathologist had ruled that drug use and an underlying health condition likely played a role in his death.

Bascome’s good character was also taken into account, and Mr Justice Richards noted that counsel had agreed the injuries to Bascome’s son, while not significant, had initially appeared so to his father.

A victim impact statement from the victim’s mother, Rita Perinchief, opened: “Marco was everything to me. When I got the news about my son, his brother and I hugged and cried together for a long time.

“It was very hard to understand what happened to my son. Marco loved his family and his family loved him.”

She wrote that her son was a male nurse who looked after his mother.

“I am no longer worrying about what happened to my son. He will always be in our hearts.”

Addressing Bascome, she added: “I have come to terms with what has happened to my son, so I have found peace in my heart to forgive you.”

Bascome gave an emotional statement, offering his condolences to the Perinchief family and expressing his sadness at causing the loss of their loved one.

“As a parent, you just would like to provide a safe environment for your child,” he said. “I could not foresee being a bystander watching my child be attacked and not do anything about it. The offence that occurred will stay with me for the rest of my life.

“I am very apologetic about my role in that day, which resulted in Marco’s life being lost.”

He told the court: “I believe there’s no winner in this case, as far as a life being lost that can never be replaced — something I carry every day as I shed a tear.”

Karim Nelson, for the prosecution, outlined the circumstances leading to Mr Perinchief’s death, in which he said there were “significant provoking circumstances”.

Mr Nelson said the medical review found that without the victim’s drug use and health problems stemming from drugs, it was “quite likely that the deceased would have survived that incident”.

Bascome and his family were selling vegetables from their stand that morning when the victim’s attack on Iamzi Bascome left him with facial and head injuries that, at first, “appeared significant” to his father.

Bascome had employed Mr Perinchief, but terminated him, suspecting he had caused “wilful damage” to the property and had shown “prior threatening behaviour” that prompted complaints to police, but no arrests or charges.

Mr Nelson added: “Upon seeing Mr Perinchief attack Iamzi Bascome with a weapon, Bascome immediately reacted before he had time for passions to cool, and pursued Mr Perinchief.”

The victim’s weapon was said to be a machete.

Mr Nelson said that Bascome, “in seeking to defend himself, struck the deceased with a motorcycle helmet, then attempted to wrestle the cutlass away”.

The court heard that Bascome ended up attempting a citizen’s arrest, holding his knee to Mr Perinchief’s chest to restrain him while shouting for bystanders to call the police.

The victim’s lung disease and cocaine use were said to play a factor in what occurred next, and police attempts to revive Mr Perinchief, though not found to cause death, inadvertently resulted in a cracked rib.

Marc Daniels, for the defence, called it “a tragedy on so many levels” with Bascome not starting his day with “malice in his heart or any foresight that he would find himself arrested”.

Mr Daniels said Bascome was caught up as a parent in “the shock and panic of trying to deal with the situation”.

“When he literally witnessed the attack in real time, his reaction was one in which his primary objective was just to stop Mr Perinchief and have the police come and deal with him.”

He emphasised Bascome’s respected role in the community as “an extremely hard-working individual” whose career stood as “a labour of love for the family business”.

He said Mr Bascome was a “gentle giant”, a father of three and a man of good character with no prior convictions, and who presented no risk of reoffending.

Mr Justice Richards agreed the matter was a tragedy. “The death of Mr Perinchief should not have occurred, and his family have my deepest sympathies,” he said.

He added that Bascome’s “first actions in this instance were very much in character — he acted to protect his son.”

Mr Justice Richards said that “many defendants in Mr Bascome’s circumstances would have chosen to take their chances with a jury”, but that Bascome had pleaded guilty even after the Goodyear indication — in which a judge gives the likely outcome in the event of a guilty plea — came with no promise of a suspended sentence.

He added: “I have no hesitation in concluding that he sincerely meant everything that he said, and it is remarkable that Mrs Perinchief has found it in her heart to forgive.”

Mr Justice Richards concluded a three-year sentence was appropriate.

“There are good reasons why I should suspend that sentence, and I will therefore do so,” he said.

No probation conditions were applied to the sentence, which was suspended for the entire term.

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