Six deny any part in plan to murder cocaine user

Six defendants in a murder trial have denied being part of any plan to kill or cause serious harm to a man found dead in his home.

The body of Ian Staves was found at his home in Cherry Lane, Wootton, North Lincolnshire, on 12 September 2022, having been killed the night before.

Bradford Crown Court heard Mr Staves had been punched, kicked and stamped on before being strangled as part of a "carefully orchestrated" conspiracy to steal his drugs.

All six defendants deny murder and manslaughter.

The defendants are:

• Nicholas James St Clair, of Castle Grove, Hull

• Bobby Gibson, of Woodcock Street, Hull

• Aaron Windas, of Anlaby Road, Hull

• Celestino Furtado, of Waterloo Street, Hull

• Jamie Smith, of Skippindale Road, Scunthorpe

• Patrick Joseph Smith, of no fixed address

Prosecutor Tom Storey KC told the court: "Ian Staves was killed pursuant to a plan put together by these defendants - they all played a part.

"That plan was at least to cause Mr Staves serious harm, which makes them guilty of murder."

The court previously heard Mr Staves was a cocaine user and had an enlarged heart, possibly caused by being overweight or having high blood pressure.

Two of the defendants, Patrick and Jamie Smith, have admitted a charge of conspiracy to burgle - the other four have denied this.

Patrick Smith's barrister, John Harrison KC, told the court that although his client was part of a criminal agreement to steal from Mr Staves, at no stage did he intend to cause anyone serious harm.

The court was told Mr Smith had been involved in a "reconnaissance trip" to Mr Staves' home, and had also travelled in a stolen Vauxhall Corsa to Wootton on the night of the attack.

"Was he showing others the location of the target address for the intended burglary?" his barrister said.

CCTV captured the movements of three individuals arriving at Mr Staves' property and he was killed at some point between 22:26 BST and 22:52, the court heard.

A fourth person was also seen entering a neighbouring driveway.

Mr Smith's barrister said none of the people seen on the CCTV were as broad as Mr Smith and his client was wearing different clothes.

The court heard Mr Smith had been dropped off later that night by Mr St Clair at the Gilson Hotel in Hull after his phone battery died because he didn't want to wake his father up, who he described as "scary".

His barrister told the court: "Surely, he would not have been seen checking into a hotel to charge his phone if he had been involved in a murder."

Mr Windas' barrister, John Femi-Ola KC, told the court: "The Crown say that from a set of facts you can infer that Mr Windas was party to a joint plan to kill, or cause really serious harm to Mr Staves.

"What we submit is the case against him is flimsy, and rests entirely on association evidence and inferences such as turning his phone off [on the night Mr Staves was killed]."

The court heard there was no forensic evidence linking him to Mr Staves' property, or any evidence he had even left Hull on the night of the attack.

Mr St Clair's barrister, Mark Rhind KC, told the jury that it was agreed that CCTV showed his client's car in Wootton during the afternoon prior to the attack with Jamie Smith in the passenger seat.

During this time, Mr Smith had uploaded a photo of a house for sale to Snapchat, he told the court. He asked the jury why he would do this if Mr St Clair was in on the plan?

"I suggest the obvious answer was it was a pretence – Jamie smith was pretending he was interested in that house.

"Who could he have been pretending to? Not Patrick Smith as he was in the back seat. The only other person was Mr St Clair."

Mr Rhind said the prosecution's case that there was a deliberate plan to seriously hurt Mr Staves was flawed.

He described Mr Staves as an "inoffensive drug dealer from rural Lincolnshire - not the Godfather".

Jamie Smith's barrister, Rupert Doswell KC, said his client had admitted being part of a conspiracy to burgle, and taking part in the recce of the property.

However, he said after the recce Mr Smith had travelled to Goole, where he remained throughout the evening.

He said his client had “played a limited role” and "there was no evidence" to suggest he had anything to do with what happened at the house. He also added that his client wanted the jury to know about his previous convictions, which were for theft and handling stolen goods, nothing involving any violence.

Mr Furtado's barrister, John Elvidge KC, told the court that there was no evidence his client had been involved in the recce, or had any dealings with any of the co-defendants before about 20.30 BST on the night of Mr Staves' death.

"So, if he was involved in some way - it’s late," he said.

His added there was no forensic evidence linking his client to the scene and he had no motive to hurt Mr Staves.

Bobby Gibson's barrister, Ahmed Hossain KC, told the court that his client had sourced the stolen Corsa.

"Does that lead to an inference that it was going to be used in a criminal activity?" his barrister asked. "Yes," he told the jury.

"Does it equate to knowledge intending harm to someone? No, of course it doesn’t," he added.

He told the court his client had an "interest" in stolen cars and bikes, adding: "It's a massive leap to go from an interest in stolen cars to a planned murder."

He also said Mr Gibson had admitted being one of the men seen on the CCTV at Mr Stave's door. However, he said: "Something he is not expecting happens, and he runs away - tripping as he goes."

The trial continues.

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