THE mother of a Colchester man murdered by his son has still not been told who was responsible for his death.

William Leahy, known locally as Liam, was kicked, punched and stamped on by his 35-year-old son, Michael, in his bedsit in Military Road last August.

He was left to die in a pool of blood.

His son was sentenced to life imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court earlier this week, and told he would serve at least 12 years.

He was sentenced on the day Liam would have celebrated his 57th birthday.

For the first time since Liam’s death, members of his large extended family, who lived in his home town of Cork, in the Irish Repulic, have spoken about the tragedy which tore apart the family.

The murdered man was one of 16 children, with eight brothers and seven sisters and moved to England about 30 years ago with his wife, Sheila, and sons Michael and Peter.

The marriage broke up about 15 years ago, but Liam, a keen artist, remained in England, travelling back to Ireland regularly to visit his family.

His own father died three-and-a-half years ago, and was buried in the same plot in Ireland where Liam now lies.

His 79-year-old mother is still alive, but has not been told the circumstances of her son’s death.

Graham Leahy, a nephew, said: “We couldn’t tell her her grandson killed his father.

“She still doesn’t know what happened to Liam.

“We told her he died of natural causes. It would kill her to know the truth.”

The circumstances of Mr Leahy’s death have made it all the harder for the close-knit Irish family to come to terms with.

One of his nieces, Jenny Leahy, said: “Personally, I think the sentence his son got wasn’t enough.

“He left Liam bleeding to death and did nothing to help, then he had the cheek to stick two fingers up at cameras outside the court, as if he didn’t care about what he did or what he got for doing it. Evil man.

“Michael destroyed our family and doesn’t seem to care. I hope he realises how much he hurt our family and that we will never, ever, forgive him.”

While struggling to deal with their grief, Liam’s family also faced a difficult task in trying to get his body sent back to Ireland.

Ms Leahy added: “Liam was murdered on August 28 and my family had to wait until the week before Christmas until he was brought home so we could bury him.

“It was an agonising and distressing four-month wait to say our goodbyes.”