Drug addict murdered 94-year-old in his flat

Paul Topham admitted being "off his face" during the burglary but denied murdering Harold Monk

A drug addict who repeatedly beat a 94-year-old man as he burgled his home has been convicted of his murder.

Paul Topham is thought to have obtained a key fob and flat key belonging to his victim, Harold Monk, during a visit to Topham's mother at the same sheltered housing scheme in Wolverhampton, jurors heard.

He got into the flat last October as Mr Monk slept until he woke and confronted the 45-year-old. He was then attacked and suffered fractures to his face, skull, spine and ribs and died in hospital a day later, West Midlands Police said.

Topham denied murder at Wolverhampton Crown Court but was convicted on Wednesday. He will be sentenced on 29 August.

The court was shown video footage of Mr Monk talking to police through an oxygen mask with severe bruises to his arms and face after being attacked on 3 October.

He told detectives he awoke in the early hours to see a male figure wearing black clothes and a face covering.

"He must have jumped on top of me because I could feel his weight on my body and then he started [punching] my face," Mr Monk said in the video.

A neighbour heard banging and groaning and alerted police.

During the trial, jurors were told Topham, of Palmerston Road in Birmingham, had struggled with "out-of-control drug addiction" and had been known to commit burglaries to feed his habit.

Giving evidence, he said he was "off his face" during the incident, but was repulsed by his actions and the hurt he had caused Mr Monk's family but insisted he was not a murderer.

Harold Monk died in hospital a day after he was attacked by Topham

The court heard Topham stayed the night at his mother's property the weekend before the incident, which is when the prosecution claimed he managed to get access to Mr Monk's flat in Inglewood Court.

Topham's mother Janet Reznik said she only found out he had been arrested when the police knocked on her door.

Paying tribute to Mr Monk, his daughter Patricia said he was "a wonderful human being who was loved dearly by his family and we think about him with sadness every day".

"We miss his quirky sense of humour and his huge presence. We miss witnessing the fulfilment he found in everyday life, even at 94 years old, and he loved to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow."

Det Insp Phil Poole said he hoped the conviction would ease some of the pain and sadness the family had endured.

"Mr Monk had every right to be safe in his own home and this was cruelly shattered by an appalling attack which stole a beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather from his loving family."