In a murder trial at Caernarfon Crown Court, it was heard that Margaret Barnes, a 71-year-old pensioner, had mistakenly entered a seafront house and climbed into bed, thinking it was her B&B.
The owner of the house, David Redfern, allegedly discovered the semi-naked and intoxicated Barnes and dragged her downstairs by her ankles.
He then stamped on her outside and called her a ‘thieving c***’, according to the prosecution.
Barnes suffered injuries consistent with those expected in a high-speed road traffic collision and died soon after on July 11, 2022.
Redfern denies murdering her outside his home in Barmouth.
Redfern, who weighed 21 stone and is 6ft 1in tall, had anger management issues and self-confessed to them.
The court heard that Barnes had been visiting friends in Barmouth and, on July 10, had gone to a Spar shop where she bought gin.
She then walked to the Wavecrest B&B, pulling her small suitcase on wheels and carrying her handbag.
She ended up at Belmont House, a large five-storey townhouse that was being renovated by Redfern and his partner, Nicola Learoyd-Lewis.
Belmont House was on the same street Marine Parade, and several doors down from the Wavecrest.
When Barnes entered the house, she went into an upstairs bedroom, took out her false teeth and put them on a bedside table, and poured herself a gin while holding a bottle of tonic.
Redfern and Learoyd-Lewis allegedly found the frail pensioner semi-naked on the side of the bed with her belongings strewn across the floor.
Redfern called Barnes a ‘thieving c***’ and dragged her downstairs by her ankles before stamping on her outside.
Her suitcase on wheels had been hurled onto the street, and Redfern allegedly mocked the injured woman as she tried to gather her possessions into her case while on her hands and knees.
The prosecution said that Redfern had used ‘vicious and intentional violence and language’ and was ‘guilty of her murder’ by acting out of temper or gratuitously.
Redfern claims that Barnes had ‘lunged’ towards his girlfriend in the bedroom, and he intervened because he thought his girlfriend was in danger.
The prosecutor claimed that Redfern had caused Barnes ‘catastrophic, fatal and brutal injuries at the hands of the defendant’, who is a bully.
Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers found that Barnes had died from severe blunt force trauma, including rib fractures and a fractured neck, consistent with being dragged down the stairs.
A kick or stamp outside the Belmont House caused a ruptured liver and one litre of fresh blood in her abdomen.
The three-week trial is being heard by the judge The Honourable Mr Justice Bourne Esq KC, and Redfern denies murder and manslaughter.
»Pensioner dies after being dragged out of a mistaken seafront house«
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