Murder of Michael Causer

Who is Murder of Michael Causer?

Michael Causer was a gay teenager living in Liverpool, England, who came to national attention in the United Kingdom when he was seriously assaulted because of his sexual orientation in the early hours on the morning of 25 July 2008 after a small house party.

He later died in the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery after undergoing extensive emergency surgery to his brain. He was 18 years old at the time of his death.

Michael's funeral was held on 2 October 2008 in a local church in Whiston where he lived.

Two teenage men, James O'Connor and Gavin Alker, were charged with the murder. A third man, Michael Binsteed, 19, tried to cover up the attack by helping dump Causer's body in the street and lied to police claiming he had been the victim of an attack by others. He pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice. Christopher Douglas was charged with witness intimidation in relation to the case.

According to evidence put before the jury, the trigger-point for the violence came when Causer's attackers found sexually explicit images of him on his mobile phone as he slept upstairs in a house where a party had been held. This prompted a sustained and brutal attack as he slept leaving him with a fractured skull and a swollen brain.