TORTURE GANG FOUND GUILTY
Vulnerable victim died after months of horrific abuse
A GANG who tortured a vulnerable father of two have been found guilty of causing his death.
Jimmy Prout, 45, thought the group were his friends. But they subjected him to horrific assaults, including slicing open his scrotum and forcing him to eat one of his testicles as well as knocking out his teeth with a hammer and chisel.
When their campaign of abuse eventually led to his death, they dumped Jimmy’s body a few hundreds yards from his home and tried to cover their tracks by pretending to look for him.
Yesterday, Ann Corbett, 26, and Zahid Zaman, 43, were convicted of murder.
Myra Wood, 50, and Kay Rayworth, 56, were cleared of murder but found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult.
All four previously admitted perverting the course of justice.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the group of five from North Shields, Tyneside, had a strange relationship which had developed an almost “cultish dimension”.
The others turned on Jimmy when group leader Zaman thought the dad had been involved in a theft against him.
During the seven-week trial, the jury were shown CCTV images that captured Jimmy’s worsening physical condition between October 18, 2015, and February 6 last year, when the final footage showed him in the company of all four defendants.
During this time, he also posted pictures of his injuries on Facebook.
Prosecutor Paul Greaney QC said Jimmy died on February 9 last year. His body was found nearly seven weeks later.
Mr Justice Dove deferred sentencing until next week.