A shop worker described two men accused of beating a man to death as sounding like ‘Teesside crackheads’ when they were stumbling around in the aisles after carrying out the alleged fatal attack.
Lee Hogg and Terry Dalton were caught on CCTV wandering around the shop in Middlesbrough while under the influence of drink and drugs just hours after the prosecution say they punched, kicked and stamped the life out of Carlos Boyce.
Teesside Crown Court heard Andrew Oliver describe the movements and behaviour of the pair when they were wandering around the Premier store in Nunthorpe.
The pair were caught on the shop’s CCTV system laughing and joking as they looked for sweets and cigarettes.
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Mr Oliver’s video recorded police interview was shown to the jury where he told officers he was concerned about the behaviour of one of the men as he was covered in blood. The jury were told he was describing Hogg at this point.
The witness said the other man, later identified as Dalton, apologised when the pair eventually left the shop after ten minutes.
When asked to describe the accents of the two men, Mr Oliver replied: “They spoke like the typical Teesside crackhead.”
The police asked Mr Oliver if he would be able to recognise the men again, he replied: “One of them yes because he was really close to my face. I pulled myself away from him because of the blood and the scar on his face.”
He told the police that he was shocked when he saw the pair drive away from the shop due to the drunken and drug induced state, they were in.
The pair are accused of murdering Mr Boyce and inflicting grievous bodily harm on Joseph Spencer when they attacked the friends in a drink and drug fuelled attack.
A pathologist concluded that the father-of-one died due to a blunt force head injury inflicted through a number of punches, kicks and stamps.
Earlier, Mr Spencer had told the court how he was battered unconscious with a vodka bottle after he tried to stop two men beating his friend to death.
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Jurors had heard how Hogg started to search for flights from Teesside Airport after learning of Mr Boyce’s death.
The were later arrested after being asked to leave Chequers Inn, in Dalton on Tees, near Darlington, for being rowdy.
Hogg, 38, of Lindisfarne Road, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, and 53-year-old Dalton, of Ellerbeck Way, Ormesby, both deny murder and causing grievous bodily harm.
The trial continues.
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