Man sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Martin Glynn

A 40-year-old man has today (Friday, May 29) been sentenced at Northampton Crown Court to life imprisonment for the murder of his longstanding friend Martin Glynn.

Samuel Michael Field brutally assaulted the 93-year-old in a prolonged and sustained attack which lasted up to 10-hours inside his flat in Gold Street, Desborough, on September 19, 2024.

More than 24 hours after the assault, Field finally called the East Midlands Ambulance Service and over several calls told them that he had assaulted his “best friend” – prompting the call handler to alert Northamptonshire Police.

When police officers found Mr Glynn in the bathroom, he appeared confused as to how he had come to have sustained the serious facial injuries. He was taken to Northampton General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with multiple bleeds on the brain and a fractured neck.

Described as a quiet, soft-spoken and very independent man by his extended family, sadly Mr Glynn never recovered from the serious injuries he sustained, and he died three months later, on December 26.

Midway through his 12-day crown court trial earlier this month, Field dismissed his defence counsel and chose not to offer a defence. It took the jury less than four hours to unanimously find Field guilty of murdering Mr Glynn.

Today Field was back in the dock, where he was told that he would serve a minimum prison term of 22 years before being eligible for parole and released on licence for the remainder of his life.

At the sentencing hearing, Mr Glynn’s family paid tribute to their much cherished “Mattie” in their victim impact statement which was read out in court.

In the statement, they said: “Martin - or "Mattie" as he was known to those who loved him - was a quiet, soft-spoken man, very independent and private.

“He lived a quiet, simple life and attended church regularly. His faith was very important to him. He was very caring and was totally inoffensive and an absolute gentleman. He had a great sense of humour and a great interest in his extended family.

“Martin loved his trips home to Ireland and enjoyed spending time with family. He was a very gracious man - kind and generous to his family, who very much looked forward to his visits.

“He visited Galway regularly before his beloved sister passed away. We maintained that bond with Martin - visiting him regularly in Northampton.

“The impact of losing Martin has been very distressing for our family. Such evil bestowed on such a kind, gentle, caring, loving, giving, good humoured, inoffensive soul. It was very upsetting to hear he suffered so much.

“We wanted to share with you all today what a lovely man Mattie was, our fond memories of times spent together in Galway and Northampton, and the cruelty of him being taken away from our family in these circumstances.”

Speaking after today’s hearing, Deputy Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Sergeant Megan Scotney, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit shared this message:

Man convicted of killing his longstanding friend in Desborough. Read more here.