Man in court over pensioners murder

Murder charges against two out of three Polish men who were accused of killing two pensioners in their Wolverhampton home have been dropped.

Ireneusz Bartnowski appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court today charged with the murders of his former neighbours, grandparents Giuseppe and Caterina Massaro, who were beaten and stabbed to death with a hammer and knife.

Another man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with handling stolen goods after the murder charge was dropped against him.

Charges of murder and aggravated burglary against a third man, 30-year-old Maceaj Kus of Chervil Rise, Heath Town, have been discontinued and he will no face no further action.

The Massaros were stabbed with a knife and hit with a hammer in what police described as a sustained and brutal attack in the bedroom of their ransacked home in Woden Road, Heath Town.

Their Peugeot 307 and TVs, one worth just £40, were stolen in the raid.

Bartnowski who had previously lived in the same street as the couple but is now of no fixed address, is also charged with aggravated burglary and theft.

The 21-year-old entered no pleas to the charges when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court today.

The case was adjourned to September 26.