Jury finishes first day of deliberations in Reece Cox murder trial
Jury deliberations in the trial of six men accused of beating to death a young father near a Black Country pub were entering the second day today.
Judge Michael Chambers QC finished his summing up of the evidence in the trial sitting at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday afternoon.
He gave the jury directions of law yesterday morning, before sending them to consider their verdicts.
Earlier in the trial, the jury had been told victim Reece Cox, 24, had stepped in to try and play peacemaker when a man he had been drinking with earlier was targeted by a group of friends near The Clifton pub in Bull Ring, Sedgley, in August last year.
But the group, aged between 19 and 26, then turned on Mr Cox, surrounding him before throwing punches and kicks at the victim who tried in vain to defend himself.
CCTV footage of the disorder was played to the jury on the opening day of the trial and showed one of the group, Adam Ashwin, deliver a final kick to Mr Cox’s head as he was attempting to get up from the floor, knocking him unconscious.
Adam Ashwin, 20, of Monument Lane, Sedgley, denies murder.
Wayne Burke, 23, of Queens Street, Pensnett; Shaquel Halliday, 22, of Shadwell Drive, Lower Gornal; Shane Jones, 26, of Orchard Grove, Lower Gornal; Ryan Nicklin, 22, of Limes Avenue, Pensnett; and Sebastian Jones, 19, of Corser Street, Dudley, deny murder, manslaughter, assault actioning actual bodily harm and violent disorder.
