Man killed biological dad hours after finding out who he was on Christmas Eve

Man killed biological dad hours after finding out who he was on Christmas Eve Martin Greensmith, 37, killed his father Steven Shevels, 61, by pushing him onto the concrete floor of a pub beer garden after finding out he was his biological son A man who killed his biological father on Christmas Eve just hours after finding out he was his son has been jailed for six years. Martin Greensmith, 37, pushed his dad Steven Shevels, 61, onto the concrete floor of a pub beer garden, causing him to hit his head. Newcastle Crown Court heard that Greensmith had gone to the Queen's Head pub, in Willington, Co Durham, on December 24 last year with his family. While there, a drunk Mr Shevels entered the pub and had several exchanges with Greensmith's family, during which Greensmith's mum told him for the first time that Mr Shevels was his biological father. Judge Jonathan Carroll told the defendant: "Mr Shevels said something you objected to. You were immediately angry and aggressive." When both men were in the beer garden, Greensmith approached Mr Shevels and delivered a "powerful and aggressive push" to his upper body, causing him to immediately fall and hit his head on the concrete floor, the court heard. Judge Carroll said: "The jury, rightly in my view, rejected your assertion of self-defence. Mr Shevels ... was presenting absolutely no risk or threat to you." In a victim impact statement read in court, Mr Shevels' daughter Chloe Shevels said she dreads Christmas following the death of her father, who she described as "a quiet and timid man" who loved nature and rock music. "He died on Christmas Eve," she said. "I found out through gossip from other people when I was opening presents. I now dread the thought of Christmas." Mr Shevels' sister Angela Thompson said he was "the victim of an unprovoked and selfish act of violence, which took his life and took him from us far too soon". She said: "It's bad enough this happened, but for it to have happened on Christmas Eve makes it a lot worse. Christmas is supposed to be a time of happiness and togetherness. Well, that's been taken away from us now." Greensmith was jailed for six years on Friday after being found guilty of manslaughter, reports Chronicle Live. In mitigation, the court heard Greensmith was "genuinely remorseful" and had experienced "significant emotional distress" and intrusive thoughts since the incident. A pre-sentence report said he may have felt "overwhelmed" by the fact that Mr Shevels was his biological father, and that this was the first and only time he had met him, when he was "drunk and unpleasant to his family".