Murder suspect tried to sell victims' car, claim

A murder suspect made an unsuccessful bid to sell the car belonging to his elderly victims on the day their bodies were discovered, jurors have heard.

The car, a Peugeot worth £4,000, taken from outside the home of murdered grandparents Giuseppe and Caterina Massaro after they were killed was said to have been offered for sale for £300 by Polish suspect Ireneusz Bartnowski.

It was stolen after the couple were battered and stabbed to death in the back bedroom of their house in Park Village.

Bartnowski, accused of their murder, is alleged to have tried to sell the car with the help of friend Wojiech Ostolski.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday, witness Martin Oakley told jurors he had gone to look at the car on April 22 with friend, Bobby Singh.

Soon after the call, Mr Oakley and Mr Singh, along with two other associates, met with two other men, alleged to have been Bartnowski and Ostolski, at the gates of Fowlers Park.

Mr Oakley told jurors: "Most of the conversation was between Bobby and the person selling the car. They were negotiating price."

When prosecutor Mr Peter Grieves-Smith QC asked what prices Mr Oakley heard mentioned, he replied: "First of all £1,500 then I believe it came down to about £300 in the end."

The court heard the group went to look at the car, parked in a cul-de-sac off nearby Springfield Road.

Mr Oakley told jurors they had all planned to meet back at Fowlers Park but that meeting did not happen as Mr Singh "lost interest".

Bartnowski, aged 22, of no fixed address, denies murdering the couple. Ostolski, 32, of Chervil Rise, Heath Town, denies handling goods stolen from their home.