Jury retires to consider whether Telford man was murdered

Anthony Wootton, 41, was found dead in the the car park of Orient Court in Woodside at around 6.30am on July 17.

His death followed a physical altercation the previous evening with 32-year-old Ashley Harris in Armstrong Close where both parties lived.

The brawl had started after Wootton attacked his girlfriend who he shared a home with on Armstrong Close, who then fled to Harris' home "in fear of her life".

Mr Wootton was found dead the next day from internal bleeding after his spleen had been "guillotined" following a being struck with a "rod or cylindrical-shaped object".­

Stafford Crown Court had heard during the two-week trial that the prosecution's case was that Harris had struck Mr Wootton with a "severe blow" from a garden rake after confronting his neighbour over the assault against his neighbour's partner.

Harris has denied striking Anthony Wootton and has pleaded not guilty to both murder and the lesser charge of manslaughter.

In summing up the evidence, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC, reminded the seven women and five men of the jury that Ashley Harris had lied about taking a rake from his garden out to the front of the house.

However, she also said that he and his girlfriend Amy Smith did not know Anthony Wootton and his partner Carlene Garrett and were only on "nodding terms" with the pair.

She said: "Carlene Garrett told us a great deal about her relationship with Anthony Wootton. It had been an extremely volatile relationship."

She reminded the court of the number of previous incidents of violence committed by Mr Wootton against his partner, and that Ms Garrett had described the events of July 16 as "the worst of any occasion".

The judge also told the jury to remember the numerous witness statements from neighbours on the day some of whom had seen Harris wrestling with Mr Wootton on the ground, but none had seen the alleged strike with the rake.

She added: "You may want to consider that there might have been a period of time when Anthony Wootton left Armstrong Close and was injured in some other way."

The jury was also told to think about the medical evidence and the words of the pathologist that it "could have been the rake" that caused the injury to Mr Wootton but he "could not say it was the rake."

But she said medical experts were divided on the possibility that Mr Wootton's injuries could have occurred by falling on to an object such as a rake.

Judge Montgomery also reminded the jury of Ashley Harris' testimony and how he described Mr Wootton as "unpredictable and aggressive" and how Harris had said he had "panicked" when his neighbour approached his front door.

Harris had told the court that he had taken the rake to "scare" Mr Wootton but in picking it up it had "backfired" as his neighbour had "charged" at him causing him Harris to discard it.

The case continues.