Lukasz Matusiak

Introduction

Lukasz Matusiak, 27, has been convicted of manslaughter for his part in the attack that killed Martin Chadburn, a 53-year-old army veteran and founder-supporter of the Hull 4 Heroes charity, in Hull’s Queen Victoria Square in April 2026. Matusiak, along with Britney Naylor, 20, and Shaytoyia Farrow, 21, was found guilty of manslaughter but cleared of murder following a trial at Hull Crown Court, and all three are due to be sentenced on November 27. Chadburn suffered fatal head injuries after being punched to the ground early on April 19 and died two days later; a pathologist told the court he died from a fatal brain bleed caused by “a blow or several blows to the head.”

Background Information

Martin Chadburn was attacked in Queen Victoria Square, the city-centre square outside Hull’s maritime museum and City Hall, in the early hours of April 19, 2026. He died in hospital two days later, on April 21. His family, in a statement shared by Humberside Police after the verdicts, described him as “compassionate, caring and giving” and thanked the first responders and members of the public who stayed with him, as well as his friends and colleagues from the Hull 4 Heroes charity “who have shown and given unbelievable support throughout.” The case was investigated by Humberside Police and tried at Hull Crown Court.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted of manslaughter; cleared of murder. A Hull Crown Court jury found Lukasz Matusiak, Britney Naylor and Shaytoyia Farrow guilty of manslaughter for the attack that killed army veteran Martin Chadburn in Hull city centre in April 2026; sentencing is set for November 27.

According to the BBC’s report of the case, Chadburn was punched to the ground during the attack and never recovered; the pathologist’s evidence was that he died from a fatal brain bleed caused by a blow or several blows to the head. The jury at Hull Crown Court returned manslaughter verdicts against Matusiak, Naylor and Farrow while clearing all three of murder, resolving the trial that followed the April incident. Two other defendants in the case, Bethany Naylor, 20, and Kristjan Suits, 35, were found not guilty of manslaughter.

The report does not allocate the fatal blow among the three convicted defendants or set out the jury’s reasoning for the manslaughter rather than murder verdicts, and no defendant’s account of the night was quoted. What the verdicts established is collective criminal responsibility for the killing within the group, with the sentencing hearing to determine individual culpability on November 27.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The verdicts drew a tribute and a warning from the family and the force. Chadburn’s family said they were “broken-hearted” but that his memory “would live on”: “Nothing will bring Martin back, but his memory will always live on. We will continue to remember Martin as the guy who laughed” — the statement continued in that register, crediting charity friends and colleagues for their support through the trial. Humberside Police told the BBC the case served as a “stark reminder” of the devastating consequences of street violence.

The legal consequences are severe and pending: manslaughter convictions carry discretionary life sentences, and the three convicted defendants await a sentencing hearing at which the judge will assess each person’s role. The two acquitted defendants walked free of the manslaughter count. The BBC report names no reaction from the defendants or their representatives.

Current Status

Matusiak is a convicted manslaughter defendant awaiting sentence. He was convicted alongside Naylor and Farrow after trial; his sentencing hearing is listed for November 27, 2026 at Hull Crown Court. Until that hearing, the consequences recorded publicly are the convictions themselves; the BBC’s October 20, 2026 report of the family tribute and the verdicts contains no bail status, custody position, or pre-sentence indication for any of the three.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The manslaughter conviction leaves Matusiak with a criminal record for the killing of Martin Chadburn and exposes him to a sentence the court will set later in November, with the manslaughter verdict already foreclosing the acquitted outcome his co-defendants Bethany Naylor and Kristjan Suits obtained. For Chadburn’s family, the verdicts delivered the formal recognition that the attack killed him, with the sentence to follow; the Hull 4 Heroes community he belonged to has continued to mark his memory publicly since the verdict. The BBC report does not record Matusiak’s occupation, so no employment consequences can be stated beyond the conviction itself.

Sources

• “Family’s tribute to veteran killed in attack” source