Barmouth: David Redfern guilty of bed mix-up murder

Margaret Barnes died in the street following the attack in Barmouth, Gwynedd, last July

A man has been found guilty of murdering a 71-year-old who mistook his home for a B&B and got into his bed.

Margaret Barnes, from Birmingham, died following the attack last July while she was visiting Barmouth, Gwynedd.

David Redfern, 46, found Mrs Barnes asleep in his bedroom and dragged her downstairs by her feet before kicking and stamping her to death.

Redfern denied murder but was found guilty after a trial at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Mrs Barnes had been out drinking with friends and had been planning to stay at a B&B on Marine Parade, where Redfern lived.

She mistakenly went into Redfern's house and went straight to his bedroom and fell asleep.

Michael Jones, prosecuting, described that as a "mistake that ultimately cost her her life".

After returning home and finding Mrs Barnes in his bed, Redfern, who had self-confessed anger issues, dragged her downstairs by her ankles.

Redfern, a 6ft 1in (1.85m) man who weighed 21 stone (133kg), then kicked and stamped on Mrs Barnes, breaking numerous ribs.

She died at the scene.

David Redfern found Mrs Barnes in his bedroom, dragged her downstairs and kicked and stamped on her

A post-mortem examination found she had a traumatic liver injury and extensive internal bleeding.

In police bodycam footage shown during the trial, Redfern said: "I threw her out the bedroom, dragged her down the stairs by her ankles and threw her out the door.

"You do not expect to find someone else in your bed. I just wanted to get this strange woman out of the house."

In CCTV footage, Redfern is heard telling his partner: "I didn't mean to kill her".

His partner replied: "You could have just escorted her out. It's an old lady."

Redfern told the jury when he and his fiancée came into the room, they found Mrs Barnes sitting up in their bed drinking gin and tonic with her false teeth on the bedside table.

Redfern claimed Mrs Barnes became aggressive and lunged at his partner after the couple called the police.

After dragging Mrs Barnes downstairs Redfern delivered a "deliberate, gratuitous, and forceful" kick or stamp to her.

Redfern denied murdering Mrs Barnes, but was found guilty after a trial

Redfern claimed there was accidental contact during the confrontation and accepted saying "some appalling things" but always maintained he was not responsible for her death.

A pathologist told the jury Mrs Barnes' injuries were the sort they would expect to see in a car crash.

Mrs Barnes collapsed outside the front door of Redfern's home, where he mocked her as she complained of chest pains before losing consciousness.

Despite the efforts of neighbours and paramedics, she could not be revived and was pronounced dead in the early hours of 11 July.

The jury found Redfern guilty of a single charge of murder after deliberating for 15 hours.

Addressing Redfern, Mr Justice Bourne said he must expect a life sentence when he is sentenced on Friday, with the minimum time he must serve to be decided.

Redfern told the court he "just wanted to get this strange woman out of the house"

After the trial, Mrs Barnes' family said she was a much-loved wife, mother and grandmother.

"As a family it has been the hardest time of our lives," they said.

"It has been especially difficult for Margaret's husband who had been her partner for 56 years.

"We now have some sort of closure on what has happened however no length of sentence will ever fill the void that Margaret has left behind."