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Jurors' horror at video of death
Three men and a woman filmed themselves attacking a Wigan man in a "sexually motivated and sadistic killing", a court heard.
Shaun Fitton, 26, suffered massive internal injuries when he was subjected to an "horrific" attack with the handle of a mop.
Mr Fitton was also stripped naked and covered in white paint before being hauled around the streets in a wheelie bin, Liverpool Crown Court was told. He was found slumped naked next to bins in Westbank Street, Hindsford, in the early hours of the morning.
Rebecca Birt, 22, her boyfriend Shaun Beatty, 20, both of West Bank Street, Atherton, and former lovers Owen Skeat, 23, of Bowling Green Row, Atherton, and Michael Gerrard, 22, of Rivington Street, Atherton, all from Wigan, deny Mr Fitton's murder on August 30 last year.
Prosecutor Neil Flewitt QC said the attack was launched after Mr Fitton made drunken sexual advances towards Birt, a mother-of-one, at her home in Westbank Street, Tyldesley.
Jurors covered their mouths and recoiled in horror as they were shown a home video recording of the "particularly unpleasant" attack involving a mop handle.
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Although the recording did not show the face of the attacker, Mr Flewitt said evidence will show that it was Birt who was filming the incident.
He added that the voices of other defendants could be heard in the background laughing and shouting words of encouragement.
The result of the attack on Mr Fitton was massive internal injuries which, Mr Flewitt said, coupled with head injuries sustained in the rest of the attack, caused his death.
Mr Flewitt told the seven women and five men of the jury: "Now that you have seen that footage you will, I'm sure, more rapidly understand how Shaun Fitton sustained such horrific injuries."
He added the attack only came to an end when neighbours called police after they saw Mr Fitton, unconscious and covered in paint, being dragged around the streets inside the wheelie bin.
Officers eventually found the victim lying unconscious in the back yard of Birt's house and Birt, Skeat and Gerrard were arrested on suspicion of assault.
Beatty fled the scene, Mr Flewitt said, but handed himself in to police the following day.
Shortly afterwards Mr Fitton died and the four were re-arrested on suspicion of murder.
In interviews with detectives all the defendants denied the sexual assault on the victim.
Beatty told police it was Skeat who attacked Mr Fitton with the mop, but Skeat claimed he knew nothing about it.
Both men said their recollections of that night had been affected by taking anti-depressants.
Birt said she was in another room, with Gerrard, when the attack took place.
Mr Flewitt said: "None of the defendants mentioned, when they were interviewed, that Rebecca Birt had made a video recording of what had happened.
"No doubt they had hoped that the damning footage had been wiped from the camera and would never be recovered.
"This was, we suggest, a sexually motivated and sadistic killing. As you can see from the video footage, Shaun Fitton was totally defenceless.
"And what they did to him was, you might think, intended to humiliate and punish him for what he had said earlier.
"They are all responsible for what was done to Shaun Fitton either because they inflicted the injuries themselves or because they assisted and encouraged those who inflicted the injuries."
(Proceeding)
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Weather for Wigan
Saturday 26 May 2012
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