Addict 'ashamed' of killing man, 94, denies murder

Paul Topham has admitted manslaughter but denies deliberately killing pensioner Harold Monk

A drug addict accused of murdering a 94-year-old man during a burglary has told jurors he is "ashamed" of his actions.

Paul Topham, 45, has admitted manslaughter but denies deliberately killing pensioner Harold Monk at his Wolverhampton flat on October 3 last year.

Giving evidence in his trial at the city's crown court on Friday, the defendant, of Palmerson Road in Birmingham, said he was "off his face" during the early-hours incident.

He told the court he was repulsed by the devastation he had caused Mr Monk's family but insisted he was not a murderer.

When questioned by his defence barrister Gurdeep Garcha KC, Mr Topham explained he had started taking hard drugs, like crack cocaine and heroin, aged about 15.

Jurors were told there were long periods in which he had been clean and not offended, including when he worked as a stonemason and fathered his two children.

But Mr Topham agreed he had a 30-year criminal history, mostly for burglary-related offences, where he had "fed his addiction by being dishonest and stealing things".

"Unfortunately when you are gripped in the throes of addiction, your conscience goes pretty low to the ground," he said.

"You just don't give it a second thought."

Mr Topham says he is "disgusted, ashamed and repulsed" by his actions

However, the defendant explained he had always taken responsibility and pleaded guilty when faced with charges, adding he had never been convicted of violent burglary.

When asked why he had pleaded guilty to Mr Monk's manslaughter, Mr Topham said: "I believe I'm responsible for the unlawful killing of him."

Asked how it made him feel, he said he was "disgusted, ashamed and repulsed by the devastation I've caused his poor family".

Yesterday, the trial saw footage of Mr Monk talking to detectives from his hospital bed, 10 hours before he died from his injuries at New Cross Hospital.

In footage shown to jurors, Mr Monk was seen communicating through an oxygen mask with severe bruises to his arms and face.

But Mr Topham replied "absolutely not" when asked if he intended to murder Mr Monk.

The defendant claimed he was "off his face", having been smoking "Black Mamba" and drinking super-strength beer or cider all day.

'Drugged up'

Mr Topham told jurors he had "deliberately planned" the burglary, having taken the keys to Mr Monk's flat during an earlier visit to his mother, who also lived in the Inglewood Court sheltered housing block in Bradmore.

He added he did not know who lived in the property, and he wanted to burgle it to obtain money for drugs.

The defendant explained he was of sound enough mind to wait until the early hours, when the occupant was likely to be asleep, but said he was so "intoxicated and drugged up" he forgot to put on the gloves he had taken to cover his tracks.

CCTV showed Mr Topham at Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton train stations in a "drowsy" state, dropping his head and appearing unsteady on his feet.

The court previously heard he was involved in an early-hours rooftop standoff with police shortly after the incident.

He replied no comment in police interviews.

The prosecution does not accept the manslaughter plea and wants Mr Topham to be tried for murder because they argue that he intended to cause his victim really serious injury or death.

The defendant will return to the witness box on Monday.