Paul McCauley: Man admits murder on first day of trial Published duration 19 September 2018

image copyright Family photo image caption Paul McCauley died in a care facility in 2015 after being attacked nine years earlier

A 28-year-old man has admitted the murder of Londonderry man Paul McCauley.

Piper John McClements, previously known as Daryl Proctor, from the Fountain area of Derry, pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial on Wednesday.

He has been sentenced to life in prison.

Mr McCauley died nine years after he was attacked at a barbecue in Derry in 2006.

image copyright PACEMAKER image caption Piper John McClements pictured at a court appearance in 2015, pleded guilty on the first day of his trial.

McClements, 28, put his head down low onto his hands in the dock before he was led away.

The case was heard before Londonderry Crown Court, sitting in Belfast.

Head injury

Mr McCauley, a 29-year-old civil servant, was assaulted during a summer barbeque for a friend at Chapel Road in the Waterside on 16 July 2006.

In the early hours of the morning, a number of people attacked him and two of his friends.

image caption Mr McCauley was left in a persistent vegetative state after he was attacked

The father-of-one suffered serious head injuries and never regained consciousness.

He died in a care facility in June 2015.

The trial of Matthew Gillen, who is also charged with the murder of Mr McCauley, is due to start on Thursday.