Pensioner, 69, admits killing 81-year-old woman in street attack

Pensioner, 69, admits killing his 81-year-old partner in street attack outside their house after terrified witnesses heard ‘high-pitched’ screaming

  • Brian Downie, 69, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Lesley Davis, 81
  • Died from serious head injuries after assault last summer in Par, Cornwall
  • He denied murder over July 19 attack but manslaughter plea was accepted
  • He will appear via video link for sentencing at Truro Crown Court next Friday 

Lesley Davis, 81, died from serious head injuries following the assault in Par, Cornwall

A 69-year-old man has admitted killing his 81-year-old partner in a street attack after terrified witnesses heard ‘high-pitched’ screaming.

Brian Downie, 69, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Lesley Davis, who died from serious head injuries following the assault last summer in Par, Cornwall. 

He denied murder over the attack on July 19, but his manslaughter plea was deemed acceptable by prosecutors.

Ms Davis died at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth 16 days later on August 4, having been transferred there from Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. 

Downie and Ms Davis lived together at a 1960s three-bedroom £225,000 dormer bungalow with a meticulous garden in Par. It went up for sale on August 31 and was sold five months later in January.

Both of them are believed to have been married before, and they were only listed as living together since 2017. Downie is also known to have children.

Downie was arrested on the day of the attack and initially charged with attempted murder, before being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Downie and Ms Davis lived together at a three-bedroom £225,000 dormer bungalow in Par

Downie and Ms Davis lived together at a three-bedroom £225,000 dormer bungalow in Par

He has been held at Langdon Hospital in Dawlish ever since and appeared at Truro Crown Court yesterday via video-link from the hospital.

He will do so again when he is sentenced by judge Mrs Justice Juliet May next Friday.

The death shocked the local community in Par, with witnesses reporting hearing ‘high-pitched’ screaming before police and the air ambulance arrived.

Speaking at the time, Paul Meehan, a night shift worker with industrial minerals firm Imerys, said: ‘There was this very loud screaming. I thought it was kids at first. 

‘Next thing I know the helicopter was over the area and police everywhere. I’ve lived here for seven years and it’s the first time I’ve heard of anything happening like this.’

Mr Meehan added that the incident was ‘quite frightening’ and told how he ‘wished I had looked when I heard this high-pitched screaming’.

Mandy Griffiths, who lived across the road from Ms Davis for 22 years, said at the time: ‘It’s so quiet and peaceful here. She is very friendly. It’s a massive shock.’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk