JURORS at a murder trial in Carlisle were today shown images of the wooded location where an Annan man’s skeleton was found, along with reconstructed images of his skull.
The CT scan picture showed that army veteran Paul Taylor, above, had sustained damage to his head and face.
It was part of the evidence on the second day of the Crown Court trial of Jack Crawley, 20, from Carlisle, who denies killing 56-year-old Mr Taylor on or about October 17 2023. He has, however, admitted the manslaughter of the married dad-of-two.
But prosecution barrister David McLachlan KC, said that they believe the killing was pre-meditated and alleged that Crawley “had murder on his mind” at the time.
Data from the accused’s mobile phones showed how he listened to songs with violent themes just hours before the murder allegedly occurred, including one called Romantic Homicide with the lyrics “In the back of my mind I killed you/I did not even regret it.”
In his opening statement on Tuesday, Mr McLachlan revealed it was Crawley who eventually directed police to Finlandrigg Wood in Cumbria where Mr Taylor’s “skeletal remains” were found in a shallow grave in May – seven months after his disappearance.
He added: “This was a pre-meditated murder during which severe violence was used against Mr Taylor.”
A timeline showing contact between Jack Crawley and Paul Taylor via gay dating app Grindr was laid out in court.
Meanwhile, details emerged too of Mr Taylor’s sexual encounters with other men over the years – of which his family were unaware.
They were very concerned when he was not at home or work on the morning of October 18 and his wife reported him missing to the police. She told them that the evening before he was “absolutely normal” and they had been watching TV and “laughing away.”
However, he left the house alone in his car later that evening, after she had gone to bed, and was caught on CCTV driving through Eastriggs and Gretna to Carlisle, never coming home again. His Corsa was later found crashed in Langwathby.
The case resumes tomorrow and is expected to last over three weeks.
A second man, Marcus Goodfellow, 20, from Carlisle, is accused of assisting an offender by helping Crawley to dispose of Paul Taylor’s blue Vauxhall Corsa. He has pleaded not guilty.
Jack Crawley also faces further charges of the attempted murder of a man in York in January this year, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
- SEE TOMORROW’S ANNANDALE HERALD FOR MORE FROM THE TRIAL
