A carer who suffocated a suspected burglar while performing a citizen's arrest has been cleared of manslaughter.

Nathan Smith, 38, knelt on 43-year-old Craig Wiltshire's back for nine minutes in the early hours of November 20 2019 after tackling him in the street.

He refused to ease off even when the victim twice told him he could not breathe, telling him "I don't give a s--- what you can and can't do".

Mr Wiltshire died in hospital two weeks later on Dec 4.

Smith denied wrongdoing, claiming he believed Mr Wiltshire was "pretending" to be in distress so he would release him and he could escape.

Mr Wiltshire was believed to have been behind a string of thefts and break-ins in the Bristol suburb where Smith was employed as a live-in carer.

Despite repeated complaints to the police, the thief was never caught and there was no active police investigation into the break-ins.

A post-mortem found the victim had the sedative diazepam and the heroin-substitute methadone in his system and a pre-existing heart condition.

Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/26/carer-suffocated-suspected-burglar-citizens-arrest-cleared-manslaughter/

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