Murder accused was nowhere near the scene, court is told
A MAN accused of murder was “nowhere near” the scene where a teenager was fatally stabbed, a court was told yesterday.
Jurors hearing the trial of seven people accused of the murder of a 17-yearold found dead in a dockyard have heard the closing speeches on behalf of the final two defendants.
The alleged members of an “armed and deadly gang” are accused of killing Cardiff teen Harry Baker, who was found in Barry Intermodal Terminal on August 28, 2019.
He was bloodied, stripped, and covered in stab wounds.
Leon Clifford, 23, Peter McCarthy, 37, and Ryan Palmer, 34, Lewis Evans 62, and Raymond Thompson, 48, who are all from Barry, as well as Leon Symons, 22, from Ely, Cardiff, and a 17-year-old from Cardiff who cannot be named for legal reasons all deny murder and are on trial at Newport Crown Court.
All of the defendants except Clifford and Evans are also charged with violent disorder, which they deny, while Evans alone faces a charge of assisting an offender, which he denies.
Yesterday the jury heard closing speeches from barristers representing Evans and Thompson before the trial judge began summing up the case.
Once that is complete the jury will retire to consider their verdicts.
Greg Bull QC addressed the jury on behalf of his client Evans, a former Royal Navy weapons engineer who served in the Falklands War and is alleged to have used his Nissan Juke to act as a getaway driver on the night of Mr Baker’s death.
Mr Bull said there was no “plan or plot” formed on the night and his client was not present with all of his codefendants at “meetings” before the alleged murder.
“It is alleged Mr Evans was to participate in the planning of whatever was taking place.
“You can’t have a plan not involving one of the main players because that is a recipe for disaster – the main player you leave out could make a great hash of it all,” Mr Bull told the jury.
He said that “far from being a trusted accomplice [Evans] sang like a canary”, adding: “He dropped people in it to such a thud they are probably still feeling the vibrations.”
Siobhan Grey QC, on behalf of Thompson, said in her closing speech that her client was “nowhere near the terminal where Harry Baker was stabbed or stripped of his clothes, when he had his phone and drugs taken from him, or when Harry Baker lay dying there”.
While he had been involved in the initial chase in pursuit of Mr Baker and his associate Louis Johnson, his barrister said that was “sheep-like” and he turned in a different direction half a mile away from the intermodal yard and walked home, and “those actions show he played no part or shared intention to cause really serious or any harm” to the alleged murder victim.
She told the jury: “We say he didn’t even begin to have an intention to cause serious harm, death, or any harm. There was nothing to withdraw from.
“We say there is no better evidence of withdrawal than by turning right at the roundabout half a mile from the intermodal yard and walking in the opposite direction.
“The prosecution say he didn’t say he was withdrawing – actions speak louder than words.”
During the prosecution closing speech Paul Lewis QC said it was the Crown’s case that all defendants are guilty of murder “and it matters not who wielded the knife”.
Mr Lewis told the jury: “What is plain is the attack on Harry was ferocious.
“The pathologist found Harry suffered nine wounds caused by sharp objects. There were slash wounds and stab wounds.”
The trial – which continues – was adjourned until today, when Mr Justice Picken will continue summing up the evidence.
He has told the jury it’s possible they may be asked to retire to make their deliberations this afternoon.