Two 36-year-old men from Stevenage have today been found guilty of murdering 58-year-old Peter Shickle from the town.

At Luton Crown Court today, John Jamieson and Graham King were both convicted by a jury on a majority verdict after more than nine hours of deliberation.

Jamieson prepared to receive the verdict looking flushed and anxious with his hands over his mouth while King looked blankly at the floor.

There were cheers and sobs from Mr Shickle’s family as the verdicts were read.

During the trial the court heard Mr Shickle was found in a pool of blood at his flat in Silam Road, Stevenage, on November 6, 2016.

His TV had been ripped from the wall and the father-of-two had been battered with it.

Martin Mulgrew, prosecuting, told the court how the events leading up to Mr Shickle’s death started on October 28 when he was out drinking with Jamieson’s mum Christine.

The pair were involved in a scuffle, and when Jamieson found out about it he vowed to take revenge on Mr Shickle.

He recruited King as ‘the muscle’ for the operation and on November 6 went looking for Mr Shickle in pubs where he was known to drink in Stevenage.

In the afternoon the pair went to his house and battered Mr Shickle with a series of objects, including a flat screen TV and a bronze statue.

He suffered injuries to his face and the back and side of his head, caused by the large flat screen TV set that he had been battered with. He also suffered injuries to his body, hands and legs and a fractured jaw and nose.

He sustained 12 broken ribs which Mr Mulgrew said was caused when he was lying on the floor and was being stamped on by his attackers.

The injuries led to internal bleeding including a bleed on the brain which caused Mr Shickle’s death.

Mr Shickle’s body was later discovered by a friend, who got into the flat through an unlocked door.

Forensic investigations found the large TV set stained with Mr Shickle’s blood, a Nokia phone belonging to Mr King and a Stanley knife with Mr King’s DNA on it. A bronze statue was found with traces of both defendants’ DNA on it.

Jamieson and King will be sentenced at the same court on Friday.