Man killed woman who mistook home for hotel - court
Margaret Barnes was kicked or stamped on by David Redfern, prosecutors claim
- Published
A woman was kicked and stamped to death by a man after mistaking his home for a hotel, a court has heard.
Margaret Barnes, 71, from Birmingham, was visiting the seaside town of Barmouth in Gwynedd on 11 July when she was attacked.
A jury at Caernarfon Crown was told Mrs Barnes was found asleep in David Redfern鈥檚 bedroom, and dragged downstairs by her feet and then attacked.
Mr Redfern, 46, denies murder or manslaughter.
Opening the trial, prosecutor Michael Jones KC said the defendant was responsible for an 鈥渦tterly gratuitous鈥 and 鈥渢otally unjustified鈥 attack on Mrs Barnes.
The court was told Mrs Barnes was staying in Barmouth to visit friends, and had been seen drinking at bars before she died.
She had been planning to stay at a bed & breakfast hotel on Marine Parade in the town, which is also where Mr Redfern鈥檚 home was located.
The jury was told Mrs Barnes had mistakenly gone to that house while being 鈥渋ntoxicated鈥, and gone straight to a bedroom, where she fell asleep.
鈥淚t was a mistake that ultimately cost her her life,鈥 said Mr Jones.
Mrs Barnes died at the scene at Marine Parade in Barmouth
Mr Jones said the defendant was a 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall man who weighed 21 stone (133kg) at the time.
The jury said Mr Redfern had 鈥渟elf-confessed anger issues鈥.
鈥淚t would have been unexpected to find the elderly woman asleep in their bed,鈥 said Mr Jones.
They called the police to report Mrs Barnes鈥檚 presence.
But the prosecution said what followed was 鈥渙ut of all proportion鈥.
鈥淗e pulled her down the stairs by the ankles.
鈥淗e intentionally stamped on her or kicked her.鈥
It led to 鈥渃atastrophic鈥 injuries to her liver, and broke a number of ribs.
She managed to get outside, where her case had been thrown.
鈥淭he defendant mocked her as she began complaining of chest pains.鈥
Mrs Barnes fell unconscious, and went into cardiac arrest as neighbours tried to resuscitate her.
She died at the scene.
'Blunt force trauma'
A post-mortem examination found she had a traumatic liver injury, and was bleeding extensively internally.
The prosecution said the injuries were similar to the blunt force trauma expected in a high-speed road crash.
Mr Redfern told police in interviews that Mrs Barnes had been aggressive and had lunged at his partner.
The prosecution said Mr Redfern would claim he had tripped or fallen on Mrs Barnes, and had not kicked her.
But Mr Jones added: 鈥淭he reason Mrs Barnes died is she had the misfortune of coming across a man who was an angry bully.鈥
Mr Redfern denies both the murder or manslaughter of Mrs Barnes.
The trial is expected to last about three weeks.