Man accused of killing Black Country father 'visited him just weeks before attack'

Carl Woodall, 44, described as a 'hermit', was stripped naked before being beaten up and left for dead with 14l injuries by his alleged attackers at the Waterside Industrial Estate off Doulton Road, in Rowley Regis, on June 28 last year.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the victim, known as 'Bert', was a mechanic, who lived and ran a workshop at the compound and that he was the victim of a joint enterprise murder involving Mark Campbell, Simmion Goldbourne and James McGhee.

Giving evidence for the prosecution on the witness stand, the victim's stepson Cieran Evans told the jury that he met Campbell, from Nottingham, in Birmingham Prison four years ago where they were serving prison sentences.

Mr Evans explained to the jury that after being released in 2019 they kept in touch.

"We used to meet up every now and again to have a drink and go clubbing," he said.

He told the jury that a few weeks before Mr Woodall's death an "upset" Campbell contacted him to say he that was having personal problems and that there had been a fire at his place. As a result arrangements were made by social services for the care of his children and he was staying in a hotel.

"He said he needed to get out of his area for a while and that he needed to clear his head. I said 'come down to my area'. He took me up on the offer. He stayed in a hotel that I'd arranged and we socialised."

Mr Evans told the jury that Mr Woodall knew Campbell and that they called at the industrial estate during the defendant's stay, visiting the site's takeaway cafe and the victim's unit in the rear yard.

He said there had been a blue Subaru outside the unit and they went over to look at it.

"Carl came outside and we had a chat. We went into the unit to look at some on the motorbikes. Mark was trying to persuade Carl to sell one of them, but he wasn't interested in selling it.

"We were there for about 15 minutes then we left."

He said he could not recall where they went immediately after that, but he had arranged with Campbell for them both to stay in a hotel in Birmingham, but the situation changed when the defendant left town without any warning.

"I didn't expect him to go when he did. He had been staying both in a hotel and at my house. He asked to borrow my keys to take a shower at mine. I gave him the keys.

"The next I knew, he had taken his bags and posted the keys through my letterbox.

"I phoned him, but I couldn't get hold of him all of a sudden. He wasn't answering his phone," Mr Evans said.

He told the court that on the day his stepfather's battered body was discovered, he was contacted by his brother Joshua who told him that Mr Woodall's son Ryan had been in touch to tell them that he had been "beaten up".

Mr Evans said that when he arrived at the scene the police were already there.

Mr Woodall's body was discovered by his son Ryan, who arrived to find his caravan door broken and the unit more untidy than normal.

The jury was shown CCTV footage that captured a silver Nissan driven to Doulton Road by McGhee, 28, with Goldbourne, 28, and Campbell, 39, inside at 1.15am. The prosecution allege that Goldbourne and Campbell entered the victim's caravan, where he was initially assaulted before being taken to the unit and beaten again.

Meanwhile McGhee remained at the car for two hours until the pair returned at about 4.13am and they drove back to the Nottingham area.

Campbell, of Glaisdale Drive East, McGhee, of Stanstead Avenue, both in Nottingham, and Goldbourne, of no fixed abode, all deny murder.

The trial continues.