Sebastian Trabucatti, a 25-year-old club promoter from Haywards Heath, West Sussex, has been convicted of first degree manslaughter over the death of 18-year-old Archie Lloyd in Malia, Crete, in 2015. The court in Heraklion found him guilty after less than an hour of deliberation, but handed down a suspended four-year prison sentence, meaning he will not serve immediate jail time.
Lloyd, a pupil at Harrow School, was celebrating the end of his A-Level exams with friends when he was punched by Trabucatti during a drunken row at 5am on 6 August 2015. The altercation occurred near the Cloud Nine nightclub, where Trabucatti worked, after a confrontation over insults shouted at two women on quad bikes.
The court heard that Trabucatti pushed Lloyd's friend, Andy Hutchinson, to the ground before punching Lloyd in the face. Lloyd was initially checked by paramedics and given the all clear, but later became unresponsive and was found dead hours later. A UK coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing in 2016.
Lloyd's parents, James and Claire, expressed relief at the guilty verdict, stating in a family statement: 'Sebastian Trabucatti took our wonderful son, brother and friend away from us when he attacked him, shattering many lives as a result.' Trabucatti, who denied responsibility, wept during proceedings and declined to comment after the case.
The case has highlighted the tragic consequences of a single punch, with Lloyd's father noting that the defendant was the only person who saw how badly his son was hurt. Trabucatti claimed the blow was a slap, but the court rejected this defence.
