A MAN accused of murder was covered in blood with a knife in his hands standing over the victim, a court was told.

Newport Crown Court heard Ieuan Harley being labelled a “psychopath” by co-defendant David Osborne who described seeing David Gaut lying injured on the floor of his flat.

Harley, aged 23, of Punch House Flats, Morgan Street, Tredegar, Osborne, aged 51, of Long Row, New Tredegar and Darran Evesham, aged 47, of Powell's Terrace, New Tredegar, are on trial accused of his murder last August.

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The jury have heard how Mr Gaut was stabbed more than 150 times and found at his home in New Tredegar after being recently released from a 32-year jail sentence.

It is claimed Harley, Osborne and Evesham murdered him after they had found out from internet research the alleged victim, who they knew as Dai, had killed a 15-month-old boy named Chi Ming Shek in the 1980s.

It is alleged the trio killed him at Osborne’s flat, his next-door neighbour, before moving his body back to his own apartment where he was found by police on Sunday, August 5.

South Wales Argus: Chi Ming Shek, known as Marky, who was 15 months old when he died in 1985Chi Ming Shek, known as Marky, who was 15 months old when he died in 1985

The jury heard Osborne’s police interviews after his arrest, which were read out to the court by prosecutor Timothy Evans and the officer in the case, Detective Constable Jonathan Parkinson.

Osborne told detectives he had been in his flat with Harley and Mr Gaut on the evening of Saturday, August 4 when they had tried to cut up a piece of lamb to share with neighbours.

He said: “The Harley boy is a bit paranoid, a bit cuckoo. He said that he thought Dai was a paedophile. He was saying, ‘He’s a nonce, he’s a nonce. I don’t trust him.’”

Osborne told how he was struggling to carve up the cooked meat in his kitchen with Harley and Mr Gaut, when the latter produced a large knife concealed up his sleeve and things had then “kicked off”.

He described what he saw when he went into his lounge: “The Harley boy was standing over David with a big knife, I could see him lying down, and he had blood all over him.

“I could see his T-shirt was red all over. He’s just a psychopath.

“I saw him standing over him with blood all over him with a knife in his hands.”

Osborne continued: “I was terrified when he had that knife and was full of blood. I thought if I don’t help him, he would have tried to kill me … I thought I was going to be next.”

When he was asked about what condition Mr Gaut had been in at this time, he replied: “He wasn’t moving.”

Harley and Evesham deny perverting the course of justice, a charge which Osborne has admitted.

Proceeding.

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