In a packed Nottingham Crown Court, the teenage daughters of murdered father James Cook stood tall and delivered raw, heartbreaking statements directly to his killer, branding him “the monster who stole my dad like he was nothing.” Their words, spoken one year and a day after the brutal stabbing, captured the unimaginable grief of a family shattered by a senseless revenge attack that began with a minor pub fight.

Brandon Byrne, 23, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 23 years on May 1, 2026, for the murder of 40-year-old James Cook in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The killing happened on April 30, 2025, after a brief scuffle at the Loose Cannon pub escalated into a deadly street chase captured on chilling CCTV.

Olivia Cook, one of James’s daughters, delivered one of the most powerful statements. At just 16 when her father was taken, she told Byrne: “Why would someone do this to my dad? My hero? No more hugs, no more ‘I love yous,’ no more memories — all gone within the blink of an eye. You, Brandon, are the monster in my life. You should not just be done for murder — you should be done for theft because you have taken him from my life. You are the monster who stole my dad like he was nothing.”

Her sister Lily Cook spoke of a pain “that cuts through you like a knife that no one should go through,” describing a profound loss of love and life itself. The daughters’ voices echoed the devastation felt by the entire family as they addressed the man responsible for ripping their world apart.

James Cook, described by loved ones as a “cheeky charmer,” hardworking family man, and devoted father, was enjoying a night out with friends when a verbal exchange with Byrne turned physical. After both men were ejected from the pub, Byrne — angered by a facial injury — armed himself with a kitchen knife, hunted Cook down along Stodman Street and Castle Gate, stabbed him twice, and kicked him in the head as he lay helpless on the ground.

Judge Steven Coupland made it clear the murder was driven by pure revenge. “In an incident that lasted less than two minutes you murdered James Cook,” the judge told Byrne. “This case is a tragic example of what can happen when anyone carries a knife in public.”

James’s wife Adele, in her own powerful victim impact statement, called her husband “the greatest dad and the greatest love of my life — my partner, my protector, and my best friend.” She added that Byrne had “destroyed an entire family and left my three daughters in a constant state of fear and grief.” James will never walk his daughters down the aisle or become a grandfather, she said through tears.

Other family members poured out their pain. James’s mother Evelyn Pepper said she wakes every morning hoping it was all a bad dream. His sister Nicola described him as “the heart and soul of our family,” saying part of her died with him. His father in Australia admitted he is now “broken,” and his step-father lamented that the girls would never feel their dad’s pride on their wedding days.

Byrne, who denied murder and claimed self-defence, showed little emotion as the statements were read. His defence highlighted a childhood ADHD diagnosis, school expulsion, and stopping medication, along with cannabis use and alcohol that night — but the jury rejected any mitigation, convicting him after hearing overwhelming evidence including CCTV and body-worn camera footage where he asked officers, “Did he die?”

The case has once again spotlighted Britain’s knife crime crisis. Byrne was habitually carrying a blade, turning a drunken pub disagreement into irreversible tragedy. Nottinghamshire Police praised the swift investigation that led to his arrest just hours after the attack, but campaigners say more must be done to stop young men arming themselves in the first place.

James Cook’s family now faces a lifetime sentence of grief. Yet through their courage in court, they have ensured his memory lives on as the loving hero dad he truly was — not just another statistic in the grim tally of knife deaths.

As the judge noted, one bad decision fuelled by revenge erased a lifetime of love in seconds. The daughters’ words will haunt anyone who heard them: a monster stole their dad, but his legacy of love remains unbreakable.

Communities across the UK continue to call for stronger action on knife possession, better pub security, and early intervention for at-risk youth. For the Cook family, justice has been delivered — but nothing can fill the void left by a cheeky, charming father who was simply taken too soon.