Sunderland man charged with manslaughter over Southwark death

A 36-year-old man from Sunderland has been charged with manslaughter after a 43-year-old man died following an altercation in Southwark in September, prosecutors and police said. Lewis Macleod appeared at Inner London Crown Court on Monday where he was charged in connection with the death of Michael John Edwards. A trial is scheduled to begin at the same court on April 13, 2026.

Metropolitan Police were called at 2.55 a.m. on Saturday, September 13 to reports of a disturbance involving a group of men in Southwark. Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service and a man was taken to a central London hospital with serious head injuries. Edwards, from Nuneaton in Warwickshire, was treated for life-threatening injuries but died in hospital on Wednesday, September 17. The police said specialist officers are providing support to his family.

Macleod, of Hadleigh Road in Sunderland, had earlier been charged with causing grievous bodily harm in relation to the incident. At Monday’s court appearance he was formally charged with manslaughter and remanded to await trial. He is due to stand trial at Inner London Crown Court in April next year.