Murder suspect’s trial date set for december
A MAN accused of murdering a Withington dad could go on trial before Christmas.
Hedley Plummer appeared at Manchester Crown Court yesterday for a brief hearing before a judge.
Mr Plummer, 37, is charged with the murder of Noel White. He did not enter a plea, and the case was adjourned. A plea and trial preparation hearing A LONELY widow was cheated out of thousands of pounds in a dating scam by a man from Manchester posing as a British doctor working overseas.
The woman was tricked into parting with more than £9,000 after being assured that ‘Dr Marcus Harry’ would be able to pay her back when he returned to the UK, a jury heard.
She paid £4,000 into an account owned by Akinyemi Adigun, 35. He denied any involvement in the fraud.
A jury at Warwick Crown Court found Adigun, of Attleboro Road, Moston, guilty of possessing criminal property.
Prosecutor Daniel Wright explained that the ‘property’ Adigun possessed was money paid into his bank account which was the proceeds of criminal activity. He said that by September 2015 the victim, from Leamington, had been living alone for three years following the death of her husband.
Mr Wright added: “She found herself getting lonely and, at the suggestion of a friend, she joined a dating site for widows. She was contacted by ‘Dr Marcus Harry,’ who said he was a 50-yearold male from Bristol who was working overseas in Nepal.
“They hit it off, and within a month Dr Marcus Harry starts to ask for money from her. At first these were small amounts.” will take place on September 3. A trial date was set for December 3. The court heard it is expected to run for seven days. Mr Plummer, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody by Judge Richard Mansell QC. Mr White, a dad-of-one, died on Saturday night in hospital after collapsing outside his home on Heysham Avenue in Withington.
It began with a request over WhatsApp, in which Adigun asked the woman if she would get him £50 of iTunes vouchers, which he said he was unable to buy in Nepal. She agreed and sent a picture of the voucher code.
Two weeks later, ‘Dr Harry’ told the woman he was planning to fly back to the UK on October 17, but was unable to get hold of the £1,000 he needed for the flight – so she agreed to send it to him on the basis that he would repay it on his return.
“A few days later there were further requests,” Mr Wright told the court.
“This time Dr Harry asked for £4,000 on October 5 because he said he had been fined for bringing gold into Dubai on his way back, and would not be released until he had paid a £25,000 fine.” The woman was reluctant, but he pleaded with her and said he would pay her back, and she transferred the £4,000 to the account of a friend.
‘Dr Harry’ then claimed he had not been able to come up with all of the rest of the money, and persuaded the woman to transfer a further £4,000 which was paid into Adigun’s account.
Adigun, who accepted the money had been transferred into his account, made no comment when he was arrested. But in court he claimed it had been done at the request of a friend, a Nigerian national who needed the use of a UK bank account for the transfer of some money.
Adigun said he had agreed the man could use his account, and that he had no idea the money had come from a crime. Adigun was bailed to be sentenced at a later date.