Child killer David Gaut brutally murdered by three men after being lured to his death, jury told

David Gaut was brutally killed after being lured to a flat where he was stabbed more than 150 times, a jury at Newport Crown Court has been told.

Ieuan Harley, 23, formerly of Punch House Flats, Morgan Street, Tredegar, Darran Evesham, 47, of Powell's Terrace, New Tredegar, and David Osborne, 51, of Long Row, New Tredegar, deny killing Gaut, who was 54.

Police in New Tredegar after the body of David Gaut was found

The alleged victim was found dead at his flat in Long Row in New Tredegar on Saturday August 4.

It is claimed the trio killed him after they had found out from internet research that Mr Gaut, who they knew as Dai, had killed a 15-month-old boy named Chi Ming Shek.

Chi Ming Shek - known as Marky - who was 17 months old when he died in 1985.

Benjamin Douglas-Jones QC told the jury: “The prosecution case is that they together were all, jointly, involved in the murder of a 54-year-old man called David Gaut.

“He lived next door to David Osborne. He had recently been released from prison, having served over 32 years for the murder of a boy.

“Osborne lured him to his flat. He was then killed – repeatedly stabbed.”

The prosecutor added: “Immediately after the murder, all three men actively played a part in moving his dead body back to his home.

“They moved the body into Mr Gaut’s own flat, cleaned David Osborne’s flat, where the murder took place, tried to dispose of bloodied clothing and set fire to a car to destroy incriminating items.”

The court heard the alleged victim’s killing was “brutal and involved gratuitous violence”.

Mr Douglas-Jones told the jury that they had to weigh the evidence against each defendant in an analytic way without emotion affecting their judgment.

Forensic officers in Long Row, New Tredegar

He said: “The deceased committed a vile offence himself. He did however serve over 32 years in prison. It is no part of your function (or ours now) to judge him.

“He was judged. He was sentenced. A murder carried out to punish someone is as much a murder as a murder carried out for no reason.

“In the same way that you would carry out your task if you were dealing with the murder of a gangster who had killed many people, you have to stand back from any reduced sympathy you might naturally have for the deceased given his historical crime and assess the quality of the evidence.”

Mr Douglas-Jones told the jury that Harley became "irate" when he heard about Mr Gaut’s past and how he had threatened to “chop him up and put him down the plughole”.

They also heard how Osborne has pleaded guilty to a separate charge of perverting the course of justice and that Harley and Evesham deny these charges.

The trial before Mr Justice Lewis is expected to last four weeks.