Anglesey crossbow murder victim was 'cleaned out of £200k'

Gerald Corrigan and his partner Marie Bailey were "virtually cleaned out" after giving about £200,000 to Richard Wyn Lewis, court hears

A retired lecturer who was shot dead with a crossbow had been "virtually cleaned out" after giving £200,000 to a conman, a court has heard.

Richard Wyn Lewis, 50, took the money from Gerald Corrigan and his partner Marie Bailey and claimed to spend it on property development and horses, a trial at Mold Crown Court has heard.

Mr Corrigan, 74, was murdered outside his remote home near Holyhead on Anglesey, in April 2019.

Mr Lewis denies eight counts of fraud.

"Wyn Lewis is a conman, he is a fraudster, and during the period spanned by this indictment he conned a number of different people out of various sums of money, sometimes many thousands," said Peter Roach QC, prosecuting.

The prosecutor told the court that Mr Lewis had told Mr Corrigan and Ms Bailey he would help them with the apparent development and sale of their home - called Gof Du - and they would be able to sell the 35-acre plot for more than £2m.

"I say apparent development and apparent sale because there was no such development and there was no such sale, it was all a figment thought up by Wyn Lewis," Mr Roach told the jury.

"Throughout, people lost their money and Wyn Lewis dishonestly kept it."

'A sham'

The court heard Mr Lewis, of Llanfair-yn-Neubwll near Holyhead, had told Mr Corrigan he had a potential buyer, John Halsall, and a retired planning officer, referred to as David, would help him to get planning permission.

Mr Lewis told Mr Corrigan and Ms Bailey he would help them with the development and sale of their home

But following his death, police found several numbers Mr Corrigan had noted for "David" could be traced back to Mr Lewis.

Mr Roach told the court that Mr Corrigan was convinced the house sale was near completion before his death but no planning applications had been submitted and Mr Halsall did not exist.

"The whole thing was a sham," Mr Roach said.

When interviewed by police, Ms Bailey estimated the couple had given about £200,000 in cash to Mr Lewis between 2015 and 2019, and were "virtually cleaned out of available cash".

• Anglesey crossbow murder: Man denies fraud

• Pair face fraud and money laundering charges

Two days before his murder, the court heard Mr Corrigan had given £200 to Mr Lewis and told him: "There is no more money."

Mr Roach also told the jury Mr Lewis had also taken money from the couple for "non-existent" horses and stabling fees.

The court also heard Ms Bailey, 66, paid Mr Lewis to take her car for repair, but instead he sold it for £5,000 and told her it was damaged and should be scrapped.

The jury was also told that in 2018, Ms Bailey transferred £50,000 to Mr Lewis' partner, Siwan Maclean, for the purchase of the former Llanddona school on Anglesey, which Mr Lewis had told her she could sell for a profit to a building firm.

But, Mr Roach said the building was never put up for general sale.

The jury was told Mr Corrigan's murder was nothing to do with this trial, but the fraud allegations came to light when Ms Bailey was interviewed by police after the shooting.

Mr Lewis' partner Ms Maclean, 51, also of Llanfair-yn-Neubwll, denies entering into a money laundering agreement. Mr Lewis denies eight counts of fraud and the trial continues.