A Scots Army veteran may have tried desperately to fight off a teen killer before his body was burned and dumped in a makeshift grave, a jury has heard.
Jack Crawley, who turned 20 this year, led police to the skeletal remains of married dad-of-two Paul Taylor on May 1.Crawley admits the ex-serviceman’s manslaughter but denies murder.
Crawley further denies a second charge, which alleges that he tried to murder a second man with a hammer during a gay tryst in Yorkshire during early January after skipping bail.Mr Taylor went missing from his Annan home last October having hidden a sexual interest in men from loved ones.
Carlisle Crown Court heard Mr Taylor’s skull was bludgeoned at least 10 times before his body was set alight, “dragged” into a makeshift grave and hidden.A pathologist, Dr Matt Cieka, has concluded that a claw hammer could have caused dreadful skull injuries.
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