Alleged Walsall murderer 'told friend he had battered someone'
A man accused of murder had supposedly told a friend he had ‘battered someone’ after a falling out - a week after Edwin Bradley’s dead body was discovered in Walsall.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard from witness Richard Betteridge, who used to meet up with the accused Darren Barnes several times a week to drink and play pool at a pub in Derby.
He told the jury about how he had let Barnes, who has no fixed address, sleep on his sofa during the night of July 13.
Mr Bradley’s body was discovered at his home in Bloxwich Road on July 6 - but he is thought to have died on July 4.
Barnes, aged 48, was charged with murder after being arrested in Derbyshire - where he has friends - on July 27.
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Mr Betteridge, who lives in Derby, said he had not seen Barnes for ‘several months’ until he knocked on his door on July 13.
He said: “He [Barnes] said he was homeless. So I offered to put him up for one night as I didn’t have my children.
“I woke up at 10-11am and Daz was still there. He was frustrated. He told me he had a falling out and had battered someone.
“He had been on this person’s computer and saw stuff he shouldn’t have and said he was a paedo.”
Sixty-five-year-old Mr Bradley died after a ‘sustained and violent’ assault.
His body was discovered partially hidden under a pile of household goods after a neighbour raised the alarm.
Barnes had become a regular visitor to Mr Bradley’s flat in the days leading up to the murder. He left the Walsall area on July 4 and headed for Derbyshire before being arrested.
Barnes denies murder and the theft of the hard drive from the victim’s computer.
The case continues.
