A married man was murdered in a premeditated attack by a teenager “with murder on his mind” he met on a gay dating app, a court heard yesterday.
Jack Crawley, now 20, listened to a song called Romantic Homicide before subjecting Paul Taylor to a violent attack in which his head was “completely smashed”, jurors were told.
He later dismissed his 56-year-old Scottish victim as “worse than Jeffrey Dahmer”, the American serial killer and sex offender, and claimed that “it was a better world without him”.
Mr Taylor’s remains were found in a shallow grave in Cumbria seven months after his wife Maria last saw him alive at their home in Annan, Dumfriesshire.
She didn’t know that her husband had a sexual interest in men and used apps like Grindr and Fabguys to meet other men.
Paul Taylor’s remains were found in a shallow grave in Cumbria seven months after his wife Maria last saw him alive at their home in Annan, Dumfriesshire.
Mr Taylor was subjected to a violent attack in which his head was “completely shattered”, jurors were told.
The night he “literally vanished into thin air,” she went to bed at 9:30 p.m. and only discovered he had gone out when she found his nightclothes in the kitchen the next morning.
Crawley, a hospital security guard, stood trial yesterday at Carlisle Crown Court accused of murdering Mr Taylor in October last year.
David McLachlan, KC, prosecuting, told the jury that Crawley had already admitted manslaughter and claimed he had been trying to steal Mr Taylor’s car after meeting him in Carlisle.
But he said the plea had not been accepted, adding: “The prosecution’s case is that this was not a botched robbery.” It was far from a romantic homicide, but was actually a premeditated murder during which severe violence was inflicted on Paul Taylor. His head was completely destroyed.
Crawley is also charged with the attempted murder of a second man he hit with a hammer in a “carbon copy” attack in York while on conditional bail last January.
The victim had met Crawley on Grindr, where he used the name Kyle, and managed to wrestle the hammer away from him.
The victim had met Crawley on Grindr, where he used the name Kyle, and managed to snatch the hammer from him, the court hears (file photo).
Pictured: Carlisle Law Courts where the trial is taking place.
Crawley fled on foot and was later arrested in Bath, Somerset, before being charged. Jurors will also consider an alternative charge of wounding with intent for the attack in York, which Crawley told police was self-defence.
His friend Marcus Goodfellow, 20, is charged with assisting an offender after he allegedly helped Crawley when he was trying to get rid of Mr Taylor’s blue Vauxhall Corsa.
The court heard that before meeting Mr Taylor, Crawley had listened to the American singer’s hit DVD, Romantic Homicide, which includes the lyrics: “In the back of my mind I killed you and I don’t even regret it.”
Crawley denies a charge of murder. He previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, claiming self-defense.
He also denies a charge of attempted murder, relating to the separate attack in York.
The trial continues.