Park attack 'only played negligible role' in alleged murder victim's death
An attack on an alleged murder victim in a park only played a "negligible" part in the man's death, a court has been told.
Anthony Bird, 50, died in hospital on August 12 last year, 17 days after he was subjected to a "brutal" attack in Victoria Park in Tipton.
Steven Bennett and Suni Gill are accused of murdering Mr Bird by beating him up in the park, however a medical expert has told a jury that he believes the assault did not play a key part in Mr Bird's death.
Wolverhampton Crown Court had previously heard how the defendants "rained" punches and kicks down on Mr Bird in the park on July 26.
Bennett, 38, and Gill, 33, had been visiting the park with a female friend when they confronted Mr Bird and wrongly accused him of being a paedophile.
The defendants then attacked Mr Bird as he lay defenceless on the ground, the jury was told.
Mr Jo Sidhu, defending Bennett, questioned expert witness medical consultant Mr Howard Brydon about Mr Bird’s condition in hospital following the attack.
Mr Bird had suffered three successive seizures in hospital and had fallen onto the floor which made his head bleed.
“Mr Bird had head injuries before the attack,” said Mr Brydon, a Consultant Neurosurgeon at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
“There were areas of damage on CT scans consistent with head injury.
“If you have a serious head injury in the past with structural damage (to the brain) there will always be abnormalities.”
In his evidence Mr Brydon said that Mr Bird was an alcoholic and sudden abstention from drinking can cause seizures.
“Mr Bird had been given anti-epilepsy tablets in hospital and he had been refusing to take them," he said.
“If you suddenly stop taking them it can provoke a seizure.
“When on August 2 he was found on the floor with a bleed from his head, he probably suffered another head injury at this point.
“You can have another seizure at that moment of impact.”
Mr Brydon said Mr Bird’s condition “never fully recovered” and that there was a “significant deterioration” after August 2.
“I think there is a connection between the seizures and his deterioration,” he said.
“Mr Bird did not die from his brain condition, and as a consequence, from the head injury he was admitted with on July 26.
“It might be that he died of multi-organ failure.
“We know he had significant liver disease.
“I do not think the assault of July 26 played more than a negligible contribution to his eventual death."
Bennett, of Bevan Road, Tipton, and Gill, of Shore Road, Tipton, both deny murder.
The trial continues.
