A RISCA man's death was caused by two fatal stab wounds, one to each lung, a forensic pathologist told Cardiff crown court yesterday.

A total of ten stab wounds were inflicted on Tony Jenkins, 46, along with three "slash-type wounds" and five "prodding-type wounds," said pathologist Stephen Leadbeater.

Altogether, Mr Leadbeater said, there were 32 injuries of varying seriousness.

Paul Lewis, 55, and Kathleen Carey, 56, both of Elm Drive, Risca, deny murdering Mr Jenkins during a row in his flat in Holly Road on May 14.

Dr Leadbeater told the court he found injuries to Mr Jenkins' head and face, and some were consistent with being made by a person wearing a number of rings.

Earlier, Mrs Moira Thomas, of Hengoed, whose husband is an acquaintance of Lewis', said that on May 14 Lewis telephoned her home, asking to borrow £60, but nothing came of it.

The next day, she said, she received a call from him at 7.20am, asking for her husband, because he said he thought "they had murdered someone". She said she could not remember whether he said "I or we".

But he then said Carey had stabbed someone three or eight times.

Mrs Thomas said: "There was panic in his voice. I didn't believe him, I thought it was a ploy and I didn't think it was actual murder.

"I thought he was trying to get us to go down with the money. He sounded desperate."

She said she gave her husband the message and told him exactly what she thought.

Lewis, she said, called again at 11pm.

"He asked for my husband. He was still saying he had murdered someone and needed help. There were no details and I still didn't believe him," Mrs Thomas said.

Later, she said, she heard someone had been found dead in Risca and that a couple had been arrested.

"I then realised that what I'd heard on the phone was the truth," she said.

Cross-examined by Lewis' counsel, Peter Murphy, QC, she said the defendant had once had a good job.

"But everything went downhill when he lost his mother and became an alcoholic," Mrs Thomas said.

She said he had also had a nervous breakdown and would contact her family when he was lonely and when he had had too much to drink.

Earlier, witness Mark Carroll told the court he saw Lewis with blood on his jeans, and said Lewis told him he thought he had killed someone.

Mr Carroll also said Lewis had blood on his hands and was wearing "lots of Hell's Angels gold rings".

Proceeding