Murder-accused admits raiding home of victim just months before her death, court told
Murder-accused Kevin Hyden has admitted burgling the home of Davinia Loynton eight months before his victim was found battered to death at her Shropshire home.
The jury at Stafford Crown Court, where Hyden is on trial, has heard a series of agreed facts, including the defendant owning up to three burglaries in the Wellington area.
Miss Deborah Gould, prosecuting, told the jury the first burglary was at Miss Loynton's maisonette at 51 St John's Street on January 16 last year. At the time, 59-year-old Miss Loynton made a statement to police. In it she said when she got back from work at 6.15pm she noticed a plate rack on the floor.
She rushed upstairs and saw her £400 laptop had gone. Also missing were her IT tablet, worth £300, and a jewellery box which included three rings with a total value of £500.
Burglary number two was of a house in St John's Road on February 22 last year where Hyden stole a jewellery box.
On the night of September 9 to 10 – just 10 days before Miss Loynton's murder – internal security cameras filmed Hyden breaking in to the air ambulance charity shop in Wellington. He stole a laptop and a charity collection tin later found among his clothing. The tin contained £100. Another agreed fact was the finding of Miss Loynton's mobile phone, in pieces, in Hyden's flat.
The jury heard that Hyden was arrested on suspicion of murder on September 23 at a flat in Fowler Close. Miss Gould told the jury it was further agreed that an expert had examined a text message allegedly sent by Hyden to Miss Loynton's employers when she failed to show up for work, asserting she was in Falmouth.
The expert compared the wording of the text with examples from the defendant.
They each included misspellings such as "im" for "I'm" and "carnt" for "can't".
The prosecution alleges that Hyden tortured 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 murdering Miss Loynton on September 20 last year. His partner Emma Lucas, 39, of Keats Avenue in Stafford, denies perverting the course of justice by providing Hyden with a false alibi.
The trial continues.
