Murder-accused denies problem with 'older gay men'

Paul Taylor went missing in October 2023 and his remains were found in May

A man accused of murder has denied having a problem with older gay men who have sex with younger men.

Jack Crawley, 20, of Carlisle, admits the manslaughter of army veteran Paul Taylor but denies murder.

He had told Carlisle Crown Court he had targeted the older man, with whom he previously had sex, to steal his car as he was under pressure from drug debts.

Mr Crawley said he was bisexual but had not initially told police this because of his involvement in drug dealing, as it would be seen as "an instant weakness".

Mr Taylor, from Annan, in Dumfries and Galloway, was married with two children, and had a sexual interest in men, meeting them via dating apps like Grindr.

He went missing in October 2023 and his burned remains were found in a shallow grave at Finlandrigg woods, west of Carlisle, in May.

Prosecutor David McLachlan KC asked Mr Crawley about comments he was alleged to have made about Mr Taylor being "worse" than American serial killer Jeffery Dahmer", and he claimed he been referring to members of the drug gang he was a member of.

In response to a question about whether he had seen the Netflix series about the killer, he said it was "disgusting".

When asked if he did the sort of thing Jeffery Dahmer had done and whether he had been trying to kill gay people, he answered "no".

Drugs gang claims

Mr Crawley maintained his claim the death had been a car theft gone wrong.

He said he needed the vehicle to use in a job given to him by a drugs gang called the Central Grove Mafia.

When pressed by Mr McLachlan on whether he could name any of the members of the gang, Crawley refused.

He said: "If I give you names...do you think they’re going to be happy about that?

"What do you think they'll do? They know where my family is...they know where my mam lives."

'Hook up'

Mr Crawley also denies attempting to murder a second man with a claw hammer during a sexual encounter near York on 5 January.

The court heard that after skipping police bail on New Year's Eve, Mr Crawley arrived in the city on 4 January, where he claimed he stayed with a 24-year-old student that night.

Under questioning, Crawley said: "I hate gay people – is that what you're saying?

"[So] why didn’t I hurt the university student?"

The following day, he arranged to meet a man in his 50s through the Grindr app, sending him a picture of his genitals and offering to "hook up" with him.

"He didn't look anything like his picture," Crawley said.

"So, I was a bit put off from the sexual encounter."

He maintained the man attacked him, causing him to defend himself with a claw hammer he had bought the previous day.

Asked by Mr McLachlan whether this had in fact been a case of "history repeating itself", Crawley replied: "How so?"

Erratic driving

Marcus Goodfellow, who denies assisting Crawley by helping him to get rid of Mr Taylor’s car, also appeared in court.

The 20-year-old told the jury he met Mr Crawley while working as a security guard at various locations, including the Cumberland Infirmary.

He said Mr Crawley contacted him on the morning of 18 October asking to meet up after his night shift.

He said: "After a night shift, most people are asleep and there's not much to do.

"I did smoke cannabis at that time and that’s what was offered to me – a joint to go along with it."

He said he was not aware of Mr Taylor’s death and only started getting concerned when Mr Crawley’s driving became erratic while on the way to Appleby.

The pair abandoned the vehicle after Mr Crawley crashed it in Langwathby.

The trial continues.