Man ‘battered his love rival’s housemate to death with a saucepan then hid under the floorboards’

Murdered: Scott McKay died after being hit with a saucepan

A man was beaten to death with a saucepan in an attack by his housemate’s love rival, a murder trial has been told.

Scott McKay, 41, suffered a severe bleed to the brain after being struck on the head in what was described as a ‘sick attack’ in Hull, East Yorkshire.

He was found injured on the street outside his home on July 6 and died nine days later in hospital, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Jason Shreeve, 42, and Luke Hainsworth, 30, both of Hull, appeared in court yesterday to deny murder.

Sam Green, prosecuting, told the jury a man who moved into shared accommodation where Mr McKay lived connected the victim to his alleged killers.

Shreeve learned his partner had conducted a brief relationship with the man, who wasn’t named, before they got together.

This allegedly led to several incidents of threatening behaviour towards the unnamed man.

On July 6, Shreeve and Hainsworth are said to have paid several visits to the home in Buckingham Street, Hull, looking for Mr McKay’s housemate.

Mr Green told the jury the prosecution believe Mr McKay stood up to both men before he was ‘viciously’ attacked inside his home and then pursued down the street with ‘makeshift weapons’ where the assault continued.

Mr Green said: ‘It appears on the final visit Mr McKay was attacked first inside the house and was then pursued outside where he was set about viciously and severely.

‘He resulted to die from his injuries.

‘The prosecution say it was a joint attack which involved makeshift weapons. The intended target of the attack was [the housemate], but he was not present. Mr McKay stood up to these men.’

Buckingham Street in Hull, where the attack took place in July this year, the court was told

Buckingham Street in Hull, where the attack took place in July this year, the court was told

At some point after 7pm, Mr Shreeve and Mr Hainsworth entered the property in Buckingham Street where they approached Mr McKay, who was stood in his kitchen with a friend.

One of them asked him: ‘Have you seen him?’ referring to Mr McKay’s housemate.

The court heard he replied that he had not, before he was called a liar and then punched by one of the men, which the prosecution say was Shreeve.

The pair scuffled on the floor before Hainsworth and Shreeve eventually left the house.

Later that evening, at around 10.30pm, a neighbour in Buckingham Street said she heard screaming and shouting from outside and witnessed three men running out of Mr McKay’s home.

She said Mr McKay was being pursued by two men who managed to catch up with him and ‘set about him violently’.

Mr Green told the jury: ‘One or both of them used a saucepan and struck Mr McKay on at least two occasions, hitting him so hard the panhandle broke off.

‘Both men then punched and kicked him.’

Mr McKay suffered a fractured skull and facial injuries in the attack and a bleed to the brain from which he died from nine days later on July 15.

Mr McKay was lying unconscious in the street covered in blood when a woman sat having a cigarette outside her home spotted a man heading towards Barnsley Street, where he is said to have dropped a ‘wooden pole’ near her.

Mr Green told the jury: ‘He said to her: ‘Pretend you didn’t see that’.

‘What the prosecution says is that the man who dropped what she described as a pine-coloured wooden pole was Hainsworth.

‘A moment later, she saw a man walking in the same direction. He had blood on him. She asked: ‘What have you been doing?’

‘He replied: ‘I brayed this kid. I hit him three times and then hit him with a pan’.

The house in Buckingham Street, Hull, where the court was told the attack took place in July

The house in Buckingham Street, Hull, where the court was told the attack took place in July

‘He then said something like: ‘I was doing some of my moves’ and he started to shadow box. Her presumption was that he was under the influence of alcohol.’

Shreeve was arrested just hours later at his home where police found him hiding underneath the floorboards of his kitchen.

Mr Green said: ‘He became rigid and refused to move. He resisted but was taken to a police van and once in the back he stood up and was non-compliant.

‘He began to tense his body up and clench his jaw. He was breathing rapidly and salivating.’

Bodycam footage from one of the arresting officers showed Mr Shreeve getting put into the back of the van where he is heard shouting: ‘I have done f**k all’.

He then threatened to go into a fit if officers did not let him go and then shortly afterwards had an episode or pretended to.

Hainsworth was arrested in Clough Road at 7pm that same day. At the time of their arrests, Mr McKay was still alive.

Officers seized items of clothing found at Shreeve’s home in Barnsley Street.

They included a pair of Nike Air Max trainers, a black hooded top, a jumper and a pair of shorts, all of which were stained in blood.

A black bin bag with Hainsworth’s fingerprints was also found in the loft of Shreeve’s home which contained clothing relating to Hainsworth.

A wooden pole was found behind a TV which had Mr McKay’s blood and Hainsworth’s fingerprints marked on it.

A red saucepan without a handle was also seized and two broken pieces from the panhandle were discovered in Buckingham Street.

Mr McKay died from his injuries in hospital

Mr McKay died from his injuries in hospital

Shreeve gave no comment when he was interviewed by police, however, Hainsworth pinned the attack on his co-defendant saying Shreeve conducted a ‘sick attack’.

Mr Green said: ‘He [Hainsworth] said he had not been involved in the attack on McKay but he was present when Mr Shreeve launched an unprovoked assault.

‘He described the attack as sick. He said he stayed about five or six feet away from the assault to which Mr McKay was being subjected to by Shreeve.

‘The prosecution agrees with the categorisation but our case is that he [Hainsworth] was also involved in this sick attack’.

On July 17, two days after Mr McKay died in hospital, Shreeve is said to have made an admission to a prison officer about the attack, saying he was acting in self-defence.

Mr Green said: ‘Shreeve claimed that a male called Luke had gone to a house to sort out an issue over a mobile phone.

‘He went on to say that when they got to the house they ended up kicking the door off its hinges and were confronted by a male with a baseball bat and a pan and an altercation took place.

‘Shreeve told the officer he got possession of the pan and hit the occupant causing him to fall to the ground.

‘Shreeve claimed his trainers were blood-stained due to him attempting to move the occupant.

‘That was his limited admission. What the prosecution actually say is that what happened goes way beyond that.’

The trial continues.

 

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