An irate homeowner with “admitted anger issues” mistakenly feared a vacationing woman was a burglar when she mistook his grand home for a seaside hotel, according to a murder trial.
David Redfern, 46, was furious when he saw grandmother Margaret Barnes, 71, undress, unpack and climb into a bed at her home in Barmouth, north Wales, on July 11 last year, a court was told.
He called her a ‘thief c***’ before dragging her out of her home and dumping her rolling suitcase onto the street, the jury heard.
Ms Barnes, from Birmingham, “simply mistook” the five-storey house in Redfern for her hotel after traveling to the seaside resort to rest, Caernarfon Crown Court was told.
Mrs. Barnes, a retired laborer, had booked into the Wavecrest B&B several doors down on Marine Parade.
David Redfern, 46, denies murder and manslaughter. He was furious when he saw that grandmother Margaret Barnes, 71, had stripped, unpacked and climbed into a bed at her home in Barmouth, Caernarfon Crown Court was told.
Margaret Barnes had booked to stay at the Wavecrest B&B several doors away on Marine Parade, Barmouth
However, the court heard in confusion that she had ended up walking to Belmont House.
But she mistook the large Redfern waterfront home called Belmont House for the intended hotel, and drunkenly walked into the wrong house, went straight to bed and fell asleep, the court heard.
The big house had previously been a hotel before Redfern and his partner bought it to renovate it.
Margaret Barnes, 71, died after sustaining injuries ‘consistent with a high-speed collision’
The court was told that Mrs Barnes, who had bought a bottle of gin after an evening stroll, was discovered by the angry homeowner Redfern, who dragged her down the stairs by her feet before furiously attacking her and throwing his suitcase to the street.
The jury was told that Ms Barnes had traveled to the North Wales seaside town of Barmouth from Birmingham to book a B&B up the road called Marine Parade.
The court was told that Mrs Barnes was staying in Barmouth to visit friends and that she had been seen drinking in bars in the hours before her death.
He had planned to stay at a bed and breakfast hotel on Marine Parade, near the house where Redfern’s house stood.
There he bought some gin and around 10 pm he walked to Wavecrest B&B, pulling his small rolling suitcase and carrying his bag, but ended up at Belmont House, a large five-story row house, which was on the same side of the street. the street, but several doors down from the Wavecrest.
Belmont House, just down the street from Marine Parade, was being renovated by Redfern and his partner Nicola Learoyd-Lewis.
Once inside, she took herself to a room and fell asleep (Pictured: a room at Belmont House)
The court heard that Margaret Barnes was dragged down the property’s stairs. Pictured: Inside the Belmont House
Prosecutor Michael Jones KC said: “Ms Barnes had been drinking and if she thought this was Wavecrest, she went in and lay down.”
“She mistook the defendant’s address for the B&B, but it was a mistake that ultimately cost her her life.”
She went into an upstairs bedroom, removed her dentures and put them on a nightstand, pouring herself a gin into a glass while holding a bottle of tonic.
But the indictment claims that when Redfern and his partner Nicola Leroyd-Lewis entered, they found the “fragile” retiree there “half-naked on the side of the bed” with her belongings scattered by the flood in a mess.
The jury was told that Ms. Barnes had mistakenly gone into that house while “intoxicated” and gone directly into a bedroom, where she fell asleep.
“It was a mistake that ultimately cost him his life,” Mr. Jones said.
Redfern was 6ft 1in tall and weighed 21 stone at the time of the incident in July last year.
Jury were told that Redfern had ‘admitted anger issues’, and his reaction was ‘out of proportion’.
Mr Jones said: ‘It would have been unexpected to find the old lady asleep in her bed.
He threw her down the stairs by the ankles. He intentionally stepped on or kicked her.
Jones said it caused “catastrophic” liver damage and broke several ribs. He likened his injuries to a high-speed car accident.
Ms Barnes made it out, where her case had been dumped by Redfern, who then “sneered at her when she started complaining of chest pains”.
Ms. Barnes fell unconscious and went into cardiac arrest when neighbors tried to resuscitate her. She died at the scene from ‘traumatic injuries’.
Redfern was described in court as an angry bully. Redfern told police in interviews that Ms Barnes, of Baldwins Lane, Birmingham, had been aggressive and had attacked her partner.
A post-mortem examination found that she had a traumatic liver injury and was bleeding heavily internally.
The court heard that his injuries were similar to the blunt force trauma expected in a high-speed traffic accident.
Redfern told police in interviews that Mrs Barnes, of Baldwins Lane, Birmingham, had been aggressive and had pounced on her partner.
The prosecution said that Redfern would claim that he tripped or fell on Mrs. Barnes, and denied kicking her.
But Mr Jones added: “The reason Mrs Barnes died is that she had the misfortune of meeting a man who was an angry bully.”
Her husband Raymond identified her to the police.
In a tribute, her family said: “Margaret was a devoted wife and the best mother, grandmother and sister anyone could ask for.” She always had a smile on her face and she was always caring, loving and willing to help anyone, especially her family, whom she loved.
It has been cruelly taken from us too soon. We will miss her dearly and can honestly say our lives without her will never be the same again.”
Redfern, of Barmouth, denies both the murder and manslaughter of Mrs. Barnes.
The trial at Caernarfon Crown Court is expected to last around three weeks.
