Julia Rawson trial: Court told alleged killer was juror in another murder case
A man accused of killing a woman once served as a juror himself on a different murder trial, a court heard.
Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 30, is standing trial accused of killing Julia Rawson, 42, at his flat in Mission Drive, in Tipton, on May 12 last year.
He denies murder but accepts dismembering her body and concealing her corpse alongside perverting the course of justice.
The trial so far:
Coventry Crown Court was told he was a former juror on a case where a man was accused of killing a girl.
Maynard-Ellis made the revelation to forensic psychiatrist Dr Nicholas Kennedy who gave evidence at the court.
Dr Kennedy interviewed Maynard-Ellis after he was arrested following Miss Rawson’s death.
Dr Kennedy told the court the defendant in the earlier case “claimed to be the devil” and sought “diminished responsibility” in the trial.
Maynard-Ellis claims he heard voices before he struck Miss Rawson and dismembered her body. One of the voices that Maynard-Ellis heard sounded like a “static” noise, jurors were told.
Maynard-Ellis’ boyfriend David Leesley, 25, of the same address, is also accused of Miss Rawson’s murder, which he denies. Leesley has pleaded guilty to concealing her corpse and perverting the course of justice.
Maynard-Ellis is also facing rape and threats to kill charges.
The trial continues.
