Husband paid friend to kill wife - court heard

Paul Lewis has pleaded not guilty to the charge along with co-accused Dominique Saunders

An estranged husband accused of conspiracy to murder is alleged to have paid £1,500 to a friend to arrange the killing of his wife, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Paul Lewis, who was still married to Joanne Atkinson at the time, has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Co-accused Dominique Saunders has also pleaded not guilty.

Judge Geraint Walters adjourned the case to Wednesday.

Mr Lewis, 54, paid the money to Mr Saunders, 34, in the spring of 2023, but believed he had been "scammed" because he saw his estranged wife on Aberavon Beach weeks after, the court heard.

Prosecutor Ms Nicola Powell said that the two men, who both live in the same block of flats in the Maritime Quarter in Swansea, had exchanged a number of text messages between February and April 2023.

The alleged arrangement was discovered when Mr Lewis' son Keiran went round to his father's flat.

The visit was prompted by concerns for Mr Lewis' welfare. It was then his son read a series of text messages between the two men.

His father, who had mental health issues and had previously been treated in hospital, was intoxicated, broke down and cried.

Ms Powell told the jury that Mr Saunders, who lived in an upstairs flat, had previously searched the internet for information on air rifles, the prisoner Charles Bronson, car rental searches as well as guns.

"These search histories tend to suggest something far more sinister," added Ms Powell.

Ms Atkinson said in a statement read to the court and dated May 2023, that she had not seen her former husband for some time and they had separated two years previously.

"We had not seen each other to argue," the jury was told.

She said they were going through divorce proceedings and was aware her estranged husband had tried to take his life.