Man jailed over death of pensioner – Keynsham

A man has been handed a 15-year jail term after being convicted of manslaughter over the death of a vulnerable pensioner in Keynsham.

 Following a re-trial in July 2026, a jury unanimously found Wayne Milsom, 51, from Keynsham, guilty of causing the death of Stephen Ridgeway, 72.

Mr Ridgeway died in hospital on Saturday 7 December 2024, after being assaulted at his home in Keynsham in the early hours of Sunday 3 November.

A sentencing hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday 21 October heard in mitigation that Milsom has now expressed sorrow for Mr Ridgeway’s death and had engaged positively while on remand.

His Honour Judge Julian Lambert told Milsom: “You have an appalling record for violence … There was a clear causal link between Mr Ridgeway’s chest trauma, his swift respiratory deterioration and ultimately his death. You are responsible for that … He was frail and would never have been any sort of threat to you.

He said there was an element “close to torturing” Stephen in what was “a cruel, callous and calculated attack on a vulnerable elderly man in his own home”.

HHJ Lambert told Milsom that medical conditions outlined his psychiatric report “do not substantially reduce your culpability”.

Handing down a sentence of 15 years in custody with an extended licence period of four years, HHJ Lambert said Milsom would serve a minimum of two thirds of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

 During the trial the jury heard Mr Ridgeway’s 999 call to the ambulance service, in which he described being attacked and being in “terrific pain”.

 He said he had pain in his chest and back, a lump on his head and a scratch to his neck and told the call hander he’d broken his back the previous year.

Mr Ridgeway was admitted to hospital and found to have fractures to six ribs. The court heard he already suffered breathing problems but the chest trauma from the attack ultimately led to his death.

He told police officers who attended his home that two men forced their way into his home, demanding drugs, attacking him when he told them he did not know anything about any drugs.

DNA from Milsom was found on the top Mr Ridgeway was wearing, and on items at the house in Tenby Road including a hammer, a champagne bottle and two knives.

Milsom admitted being at the house when Mr Ridgeway was injured, but denied manslaughter, claiming Mr Ridgeway instigated the physical altercation. The jury did not believe his account.

In a 2025 trial Milsom was acquitted of murder, but the jury failed to reach a verdict relating to manslaughter, leading to a re-trial this year.

A second man, Ryan Robbins, 35, and from Keynsham, was acquitted on all counts at the 2025 trial.

Stephen’s brother is also in his seventies and too unwell to attend court.

In an impact statement read on his behalf, he said: “I had a good relationship with my brother and at the time of his death we were on good terms. We had not seen each other much in person over the last three years because I do not drive and my mobility has been gradually declining. Stephen struggled a lot through his life with drug addiction … but he came through this and he had been doing well with this in the last year of his life.

“This has been a long, drawn-out process and my own health has not been good over the last 21 months since the assault on Stephen … This last year has been one of the worst years of my life. The stress caused to me in losing Stephen in this way means I do not feel I have properly grieved for him. Stephen was my last living relative.

“The way in which Stephen died has caused me to feel very vulnerable and unsafe.”

Detective Chief Inspector James Wasiak led the investigation into Stephen Ridgway’s death.

He said: “This has been a most unusual case in which the jury has heard Stephen explaining what happened, not then knowing that his injuries would prove fatal.

“Stephen was a vulnerable older man, slight and with health issues. He was very open about his struggles with addiction but said he had put that behind him.

“Wayne Milsom tried to convince the jury that Stephen – a frail man in his seventies – was the aggressor. They rightly refused to believe him.

“Stephen was well-known in the community and people who knew and liked him were horrified by what happened. He simply did not deserve to have his life end so tragically.”