An actor from the popular show Hollyoaks tragically lost his life amid an ‘intense’ sexual encounter where he was asphyxiated and restrained for half an hour.

Michael Barron, aged 38, was lured to the apartment of Josh Baxter in Blackley, north Manchester, in January 2025, following an exchange of provocative messages on the app Grindr.

During their encounter, Baxter applied such force to Barron’s neck that it resulted in a fractured bone and damaged cartilage.

Baxter then tied Barron face-down on his bed, pressing down on him for an extended duration.

Originating from Ireland, Mr. Barron succumbed after a cardiac arrest due to oxygen deprivation to his brain.

In court, it was revealed that Baxter had disregarded previous cautions about the risks of choking and had persuaded Mr. Barron to drink excessively.

Baxter, of Blackley, was jailed for four years on Tuesday. 

A jury found him not guilty of manslaughter, but found him guilty of intentional strangulation or suffocation, and unlawfully inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Michael Barron died during an ‘extreme’ sex session after he was strangled and tied up for 30 minutes

Baxter had previously denied all charges

During a sentencing hearing at Minshull Crown Court, Judge Tina Landale said Baxter had arranged to meet Mr Baxter ‘in order to have an extreme sexual encounter’.

The judge said she believed the defendant was ‘well aware of the dangers of choking’ and ‘decided to ignore’ warnings he had received about the practice. 

Judge Landale said Baxter had ‘encouraged’ his victim to become ‘extremely drunk’.

She also noted Baxter had admitted to a probation officer he had ‘repeatedly’ choked Mr Barron while he was tied face down with rope.

Judge Landale added that even though the encounter had been consensual, Parliament had ruled such activity was ‘inherently dangerous’ and that the ‘public must be protected from serious injury or unreasonable risk’.

She ‘rejected’ the defendant’s claim that he was remorseful. 

Judge Landale said: ‘During your evidence, you demonstrated no insight into your behaviour or accepted responsibility whatsoever.’ 

She added that the defendant had shown a ‘poor understanding of consent and a limited insight into the risk of harm’.

Baxter showed no reaction as he was jailed for four years.

When Mr Barron arrived at the flat, both men tried to source some Ketamine, then later went to a shop to buy more alcohol. 

The last use of Mr Barron’s phone was at 5.45pm when there was a short call to a drug dealer, it was heard.

Between 7pm and 7.56pm, Baxter also stopped using his phone. Prosecutors said it can be ‘reasonably inferred’ that during that time they had sex. 

The court heard Baxter restrained Mr Barron face-down on his bed and lay on top of him for a ‘prolonged period’.

Ms Whyte said: ‘He was choked at some stage, it would appear as though he was restrained by his wrists and ankles, face down throughout the sexual activity. 

‘We know from the police search at the scene that the sex involved the use of a makeshift mask on Mr Barron.’ 

At 7.56pm, Baxter messaged other Grindr users as Mr Barron remained restrained, lying on the bed.

Baxter said he noticed Mr Barron’s face was purple, but that he could hear snoring, so he believed that Mr Barron was not ‘in trouble medically’. 

At around 9pm, Baxter ordered two chicken burgers, fries and onion rings on Deliveroo.

After he collected the food from downstairs, Baxter said Mr Barron’s face had turned ‘deep purple’ and that he could no longer hear any snoring. 

He carried out online searches, including ‘purple face while sleeping’; ‘how to tell if someone is alive’; and ‘how to tell if someone is breathing’.

He called 999 and was instructed to perform CPR on Mr Barron.

In the early hours of January 27, he Googled ‘is it illegal to f*** someone in their sleep even in you have their concent [sic]’; and ‘if you accidentally kill someone by strangling them during sex do you go to prison’.

Josh Baxter, 28, of Lakeside Rise, Blackley, was today jailed for four years

Anne Whyte KC, prosecuting, told the trial Baxter had ‘quite specific sexual interests’, which he told Mr Barron about in a message on Grindr after they connected.

In the message, Baxter said he liked it ‘rough’ and asked if Mr Barron would let him ‘choke him, tie him up, pull his hair, spit on him, call him names, get him so drunk he was weak and defenceless and punch him’. He also asked if Mr Barron would ‘do rape role play’.

Ms Whyte said: ‘In other words, Josh Baxter was sexually motivated by high-risk sexual activity.’

In the messages, Baxter and Mr Barron discussed what they liked and disliked sexually, with Mr Barron stating that he liked to be ‘tied, gagged, hooded, totally helpless’ and that he liked ‘pain and torture’.

Ms Whyte said: ‘We can see Mr Baxter telling Mr Barron that when he got to Mr Baxter’s flat, Mr Barron would start drinking vodka until he was so drunk he could barely walk. 

‘Mr Baxter said he would then strip him and start raping and abusing him. Mr Barron consented to that and said Mr Baxter could force feed him vodka as well.’

Baxter said Mr Barron arrived at his flat at 4.27pm. 

They chatted about ‘general things’, including their favourite films. 

He said the pair then began talking about sex and what their ‘limits’ were. Baxter claimed Mr Barron said he did not want a ‘safe word’.

Prosecutors said while Mr Barron was consenting to certain acts, it was ‘no defence’ if Baxter foresaw the risk that what he was going to do would affect Mr Barron’s breathing and that he might suffer serious harm as a result.

‘We suggest he foresaw the risk, and unreasonably took it precisely because the risks and control involved were part of the very specific sexual activity that he wanted to engage in,’ Ms Whyte KC said.

In her closing speech, Louise Sweet KC, Baxter’s barrister, said: ‘He [Mr Baxter] says if there is any possibility that he contributed to Mr Barron’s death, it was not intended by him, and never did he imagine in a million years that he would come to harm, and therefore it was not reckless.’

Baxter claimed the chats were ‘fantasy’ and that he never intended to hurt Mr Barron. 

Asked about choking, he added: ‘I never saw it as a dangerous activity.’ He maintained the injury had been inflicted accidentally.

Speaking of the internet searches carried out by Baxter, Ms Sweet said he was in a situation of ‘real trauma’. 

‘There is no normal reaction, only shock, disbelief, anxiety, numbness, fear,’ she added. 

‘He was scared about what people would think of what he and Mr Barron had been doing.’

Following the case, senior investigating Officer Detective Inspector Matthew Hamer of GMP’s Serious Crime Division said: ‘Our officers worked tirelessly throughout this investigation and continued to keep Michael at the forefront. 

‘No sentence can ever replace the loss of a loved one, but we hope that now the trial has concluded, the family can start to move forward.

‘I’d like to thank all the officers who were involved in this case and worked to support Michael’s family and friends during this.

‘Baxter showed a complete disregard for Michael’s welfare, instead putting his own interests ahead of alerting the emergency services.

‘I hope that the time spent in custody will allow him the opportunity to reflect upon the consequences of his actions following Michael’s death.

‘We understand details of the case may cause concern and we want to reassure our communities that we will tirelessly support families and those affected by incidents such as this throughout investigations.’