A 24-year-old man yesterday pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a man found lying on a roadside and first thought to have been the victim of an accident on November 11, 2002.

A summary of the charge against Kofi Omar Dill, 24, of Eastgate Lane, Pembroke, was not read out in court after he admitted causing the death of Frederick John Goring, 46, a Dominican.

When Mr. Goring was found in the early evening near the junction of Glebe Road and Orchard Grove in Pembroke, it was at first thought he had been the victim of a road accident.

But after being treated in hospital, Police were informed that his injuries were the result of a physical assault.

Mr. Goring, of Fenton's Drive, Pembroke, was treated for severe head injuries in the intensive care unit at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for two days.

He died after a decision was taken to switch off his life support machine.

Dill was charged with his manslaughter a few days later. Little was known about Mr. Goring at the time of his death.

He was not known to have any close relatives on the Island, and Police were unaware of what he did for a living, but he is understood to have been living in Bermuda for some years.

Assistant Justice Archibald Warner adjourned the matter for the arraignment session on January 5, when a sentencing hearing will be set.

Social inquiry reports have been ordered, but Assistant Justice Mr. Warner indicated that there was an authority that the range of prison sentence should be between seven and ten years. However, the maximum sentence for manslaughter is life.

However, Dill's defence lawyer Mark Pettingill also noted that some manslaughter sentences had also been significantly less than seven years.

Prosecutor Lloyd Rayney acted on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions office.