Man killed woman who mistook home for hotel - court

Margaret Barnes was kicked or stamped on by David Redfern, prosecutors claim

A woman was kicked and stamped to death by a man after mistaking his home for a hotel, a court has heard.

Margaret Barnes, 71, from Birmingham, was visiting the seaside town of Barmouth in Gwynedd on 11 July when she was attacked.

A jury at Caernarfon Crown was told Mrs Barnes was found asleep in David Redfern’s bedroom, and dragged downstairs by her feet and then attacked.

Mr Redfern, 46, denies murder or manslaughter.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Michael Jones KC said the defendant was responsible for an “utterly gratuitous” and “totally unjustified” attack on Mrs Barnes.

The court was told Mrs Barnes was staying in Barmouth to visit friends, and had been seen drinking at bars before she died.

She had been planning to stay at a bed & breakfast hotel on Marine Parade in the town, which is also where Mr Redfern’s home was located.

The jury was told Mrs Barnes had mistakenly gone to that house while being “intoxicated”, and gone straight to a bedroom, where she fell asleep.

“It was a mistake that ultimately cost her her life,” said Mr Jones.

Mrs Barnes died at the scene at Marine Parade in Barmouth

Mr Jones said the defendant was a 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall man who weighed 21 stone (133kg) at the time.

The jury said Mr Redfern had “self-confessed anger issues”.

“It would have been unexpected to find the elderly woman asleep in their bed,” said Mr Jones.

They called the police to report Mrs Barnes’s presence.

But the prosecution said what followed was “out of all proportion”.

“He pulled her down the stairs by the ankles.

“He intentionally stamped on her or kicked her.”

It led to “catastrophic” injuries to her liver, and broke a number of ribs.

She managed to get outside, where her case had been thrown.

“The defendant mocked her as she began complaining of chest pains.”

Mrs Barnes fell unconscious, and went into cardiac arrest as neighbours tried to resuscitate her.

She died at the scene.

'Blunt force trauma'

A post-mortem examination found she had a traumatic liver injury, and was bleeding extensively internally.

The prosecution said the injuries were similar to the blunt force trauma expected in a high-speed road crash.

Mr Redfern told police in interviews that Mrs Barnes had been aggressive and had lunged at his partner.

The prosecution said Mr Redfern would claim he had tripped or fallen on Mrs Barnes, and had not kicked her.

But Mr Jones added: “The reason Mrs Barnes died is she had the misfortune of coming across a man who was an angry bully.”

Mr Redfern denies both the murder or manslaughter of Mrs Barnes.

The trial is expected to last about three weeks.