Telford murder trial told of shock for witness
A witness in the trial of a man accused of murdering Shropshire spinster Davinia Loynton told jurors of his shock when he was himself detained by police.
Alexander Hasell told jurors his first response to the officer putting him under arrest was "Murder? What murder? I've been away all weekend."
Cross-examined on the sixth day of the trial of Kevin Hyden, the man accused of murdering Miss Loynton, of Wellington, Telford, Mr Hasell agreed that what he said at the time of his arrest wasn't true. But he told the jury at Stafford Crown Court: "It was a bit of a shock to me then, suddenly being arrested for the murder.
"I was at panic stations. I had been to the in-laws, I wasn't there all weekend. I had just been arrested for murder and I had nothing to do with it."
Mr Hasell said he was coming home from the chemists when he saw Hyden locking up the spinster's maisonette in St John's Street, Wellington, on September 20 last year, the Saturday morning she was attacked.
Her battered body was found rolled up in her living room rug by distraught friends and colleagues after she failed to show up for work the following Monday.
Mr Andrew O'Byrne QC, defending, said: "I don't challenge that you saw Mr Hyden, but it is where you saw him and the circumstances.
"The defendant did see you that morning, but he saw you as you approached your block of flats. What you are telling the jury, you saw the defendant close to 51's door (Miss Loynton's home). What I am suggesting to you is this: as you were making your way towards your block of flats, the defendant saw you and spoke to you."
Answer: "Yes, outside the door".
Mr Hasell has described Hyden as being smartly dressed in trousers, shirt and shoes that morning instead of his usual casual clothes.
Mr O'Byrne put to him: "Back in September, the person you saw so nicely dressed certainly wasn't Mr Hyden."
"I absolutely disagree. I have no doubt in my mind the person I saw that day was Kevin Hyden," replied Mr Hasell who spent four days in custody as a murder suspect before being released without charge.
The prosecution at Stafford Crown Court allege that Hyden tortured 59-year-old Miss Loynton in her home to get the Pin numbers for her bank cards before killing her. He later withdrew a total of over £2,700 from her bank accounts.
Hyden, 35, of Glebe Street, Wellington, denies a charge of murdering Miss Loynton on 20 September last year. His partner, Emma Lucas, 39, of Keats Avenue, Stafford, denies perverting the course of justice by providing Hyden with a false alibi.
The trial is continuing.
