Victim ‘suffered attacks by other men in the past’
A WOMAN allegedly beaten to death by her boyfriend had previously been stabbed and blinded in one eye, a court has heard.
Michelle Denise Rosser, 38, was found dead lying on a sofa at her home in Bedlinog, Merthyr Tydfil, on May 29. She had suffered catastrophic injuries including a ruptured kidney, bruising to the brain, a fractured skull, 28 rib fractures, and bruising to her heart as well as bruising and grazes all over her body.
Her partner Simon Winstone, 50, of Brecon Road, Merthyr Tydfil, denies murder and claims he woke and found Ms Rosser, known to friends and family as Denise, lying at the bottom of the stairs.
A trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Winstone killed Ms Rosser in the culmination of a campaign of domestic abuse, with neighbours describing hearing the couple arguing the night before Ms Rosser was found dead.
Her family also said it was a regular occurrence to see Ms Rosser with black eyes or a split lip, which she blamed on falling down the stairs or tripping over her dog.
Yesterday the court heard a list of agreed facts between the prosecution and the defence.
Prosecutor Michael Jones QC said Ms Rosser was attacked by three men in 2009 at a house in Tonypandy, where she was beaten with a hammer and punched repeatedly. The attack resulted in the loss of sight in her right eye. The three men – Dean Doggett, Jamie Leyshon and Lee Glen – were jailed for four years after pleading guilty to wounding with intent to cause actual bodily harm.
The court also heard Ms Rosser was stabbed in the leg and punched in the head by a man named Ryan Morgan in 2017 after they had an argument over £10 and valium tablets. Morgan was jailed for two years but was later released under licence on an electronic tag. At the time of Ms Rosser’s death he was tracked as being in his own home.
At the time of her death Ms Rosser had been made subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) after she had attended the Craig y Hendre retirement complex on numerous occasions to ask residents for money.
She had also knocked on neighbours’ doors to ask for money and had asked children for cigarettes.
The court also heard Winstone has two convictions for battery relating to Ms Rosser from 2015 and 2016, including grabbing on her by the throat on the one occasion and saying “I’m going to kil you.”
The prosecution’s case was completed yesterday but defence barrister Christopher Quinlan QC said he would not be calling Winstone to the witness box and he offered no evidence.
He did, however, address the jury in his closing speech, stating that his client could only be found guilty of murder if the jury were “beyond doubt” he was responsible for Ms Rosser’s death.
He said: “There’s no direct evidence Simon Winstone killed Denise Rosser. There’s no eyewitnesses to describe him and there’s no camera footage which shows him assaulting her and causing the fatal injuries. About that we must all agree.
“When you look at the evidence and the circumstances of this case, are you satisfied so that you are sure that Mr Winstone was responsible for inflicting the injuries from which Ms Rosser sadly died and, if you are, which of the two allegations do you find him guilty of – murder or manslaughter?”
Mr Quinlan told the jury the trial was “no place for emotion” and they must consider the evidence objectively.
He added: “When [Winstone] has been accused of violence against [Ms Rosser] he has admitted it and they were some time ago.
“Ms Rosser had extreme violence visited upon her. A year before she died Ryan Morgan stabbed her over an argument about £10 and valium tablets. It demonstrates the type of life she led and involved disputes of that kind. And you know about the attack she suffered all those years ago when she lost her right eye. She was capable of behaving in a way that provoked people who brought violence upon her.
“Is it beyond possibility that somebody else came to the house and visited serious violence upon her?
“I would invite you to conclude that you just cannot be sure [Winstone] is guilty of homicide. The proper verdict consistent with your oaths and affirmations is a verdict of not guilty.”
The trial continues.