Woman who got B&Bs confused died after ‘dragged outside by ankles’, court told

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A pensioner who wandered into the wrong seafront house – thinking it was her B&B – and climbed into bed, was discovered by the owner, dragged downstairs by her ankles and stamped on, a court heard today.

Margaret Barnes, 71, suffered "catastrophic" injuries similar to those expected in a "high speed road traffic collision" and died soon afterwards, the jury was told.

North Wales Live reported that David Redfern, 46, allegedly discovered the semi-naked intoxicated pensioner – who apologised for going into the house instead of her nearby B&B in Barmouth, Wales.

He denies murdering her.

Ms Barnes, from Birmingham, had been in the town visiting friends last summer, the court was told.

On July 10 she went to an ice cream parlour and bought gin before walking back to what she thought was her accommodation.

She then mistook the defendant's address for the B&B "but it was a mistake which ultimately cost her her life," prosecutor Michael Jones KC said.

He had said earlier in the hearing that Redfern, who is 6ft 1in tall and weighed 21 stones, has "self-confessed" anger management issues.

She went into an upstairs bedroom, took out her false teeth and put them on a bedside table and poured a gin into a glass while holding a bottle of tonic.

But the prosecution claim that when Redfern and Ms Leroyd-Lewis (defendant's partner) came in they found the "frail" pensioner there "semi-naked on the side of the bed" with her belongings strewn across the floor in a mess.

The court heard Redfern called Mrs Barnes a "thieving c***" and dragged the seven and a half stones woman downstairs by her ankles and stamped on her outside.

The jury heard Redfern was heard saying: "It probably didn't do her the world of good me dragging her down the stairs by her ankles."

Later, he told police she had been aggressive to him.

Emergency services were called and a neighbour was told do performer CPR but she developed breathing difficulties and succumbed to her injuries.

The prosecution admits it was "obviously surprising" for Redfern to find a old frail woman in one of his beds but "what followed next was appalling."

The three week trial is being heard by the judge The Honourable Mr Justice Bourne Esq KC.

Redfern denies murder and manslaughter. The trial continues.

• Courts
• Crime

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