Mon, 23 Jul 2018
Mark Heywood QC of No5 Barristers’ Chambers defended a drug runner in the murder case of amputee Mark Swinhoe, who was beaten with his own prosthetic leg and stabbed in a drug deal that went wrong.
Mr Swinhoe, 38, from Long Eaton, Derbyshire, who was described as a ‘loving and caring man’, had gone with a friend to Moira Street, Loughborough, on January 14, to buy drugs. His friend sustained bruising to her body and a cut to her face during the incident.
The court heard that Mr Swinhoe had no intention of paying for the drugs and had planned to rob the defendants.
Mr Heywood acted for Paul Anthony Williams, 39, of no fixed address, who was present during the attack. He was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter, but convicted of supplying Class A drugs. He was jailed for eight years.
Mr Heywood told the court: “The reality was that at the time he had been dossing on sofas and then living in a tent. He knew Mark Swinhoe and was there at the beginning of the attack and he also suffered a comparatively minor wound.”
Harry Matthews, 23, of Brush Drive, Loughborough, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 27 years after the four-week trial at Leicester Crown Court.
Matthews was also found guilty of assault. The sentence also took into account Matthews admitting supplying Class A drugs and possession of a knife.
Jamie Wileman, 24, of Elm Grove, Moira, was found guilty of manslaughter but acquitted of murder and jailed for 12 years. He also pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs.
Christopher Cunningham-Pithouse, 24, of Glebe Road, Queniborough, admitted assisting an offender and supplying class A drugs. He was sentenced to 12 years.
For more information on this trial visit: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/remorseless-killer-who-repeatedly-stabbed-1803925
Mark Heywood QC is a member of the following groups at No5 Chambers: Crime, Criminal Fraud and Proceeds of Crime and Regulatory and Licensing.
For more information, view Mark Heywood's profile here: https://www.no5.com/barristers/barrister-details/139-mark-heywood-qc/
