Eastbourne Murder Sites - Funktion Rooms, Pevensey Road, Eastbourne

Murder Site

Funktion Rooms, Pevensey Road, Eastbourne

Date - 11th July 2009

Victim - Ben Lund (1990-2009)

Murderer - Nicholas David Sitko (1985- )

Nightclub Killer Gets Life     January 2010

A Sussex man has been found guilty of murdering a teenager he spotted chatting up his girlfriend at a nightclub in Eastbourne.

The Funktion Rooms in Pevensey Road, Eastbourne was a badly run hotshop for trouble and it was only a matter of time before someone was going to be killed. when it finally did happen it was for the expected reasons, a drunk chancer had made a move on a pretty girl who had an alfa male boyfriend, the rest of the story is sadly predictable.
Nicolas Sitko, 24, was convicted of killing 19-year-old Ben Lund at the Funktion Rooms, on 11 July 2009, following a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

The court heard he flew into a jealous rage and head-butted Mr Lund before fatally punching him in the neck.

Sitko, of Mendip Avenue, Eastbourne, Sussex, was sentenced to life for the murder, Sitko wept as the sentence was read out and his girlfriend shouted support from the gallery.

Following the verdict Mr Lund's family released a statement which said Ben was "kind, friendly and gentle" and their lives had been "shattered to the core".

He has destroyed not only Ben's life, but that of his family who have found it very difficult to come to terms with the sudden loss of their young son  Det Ch Insp Trevor Bowles

It continued "The stark fact is that Ben was a healthy, bright, intelligence and positive person whose life was literally beaten out of him while on a night out.

"We had no chance to prepare for this incomprehensibly violent act, or to say goodbye. Our son has not been lost, he has been ripped away from us.

"We were a family of five, doing our best, in a loving and caring environment. We were a completely perfect fit, like a puzzle. For the rest of our lives, one piece will be missing. We are incomplete."

Sitko had told jurors he started the fight which resulted in Mr Lund's death because he was annoyed that he was chatting up his girlfriend.

The court heard Mr Lund died as a result of blows to his neck.

Sitko had denied the charge of murder, saying: "It would have been an accident. I wasn't aiming for his neck."

He said Mr Lund swore at him before he head-butted him.

Under cross-examination, Sitko admitted he could, on occasion, become aggressive after drinking and he had given police three different accounts of events.

The court was told he had drunk seven pints of beer and two shots of sambucca while at the nightclub.

Det Ch Insp Trevor Bowles said: "Nicholas Sitko has been found to be responsible for the death of Ben Lund from a violent confrontation at the Funktion Rooms, Eastbourne, on 11th July, 2009.