Man found guilty of killing pensioner Gerald Corrigan with crossbow

A man has been found guilty of the murder of Gerald Corrigan, who died after being shot with a crossbow.

Mr Corrigan, 74, died from his injuries after he was hit outside his home in Holyhead, Anglesey last year.

Following two days of consideration, the jury came to the unanimous decision to find Terence Whall guilty.

Whall, of Bryngwran, Anglesey, and co-defendant Gavin Jones, 36, were also convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The charges related to an alleged plot to set fire to Whall's Land Rover Discovery.

The retired lecturer was killed by a crossbow bolt after he was shot outside his cottage near South Stack, Holyhead, in the early hours of 19 April last year.

The trial heard Mr Corrigan was shot when he tried to adjust the satellite TV connection and at first, thought he had been electrocuted.

Mr Corrigan was taken to hospital for initial emergency surgery and was then airlifted to the Royal Stoke Hospital. He was said to be "critically ill" and was placed in an induced coma.

By the end of April, he had developed severe sepsis, before he died on Saturday 11th May.

Jurors were told they may never know why Mr Corrigan was murdered but heard that the pensioner and his partner, Marie Bailey, 64, had previously handed over £250,000 to convicted fraudster Richard Wyn Lewis.

On May 31, Whall and Jones were arrested at the Anglesey home of Mr Lewis, who remains under investigation, following an incident which the jury heard was a dispute over money.

Peter Rouch QC, prosecuting, said Whall's association with Mr Lewis "may be of significance" but David Elias QC, defending Whall, said there was no evidence linking the two before the shooting.

Whall's movements on the night of the shooting were revealed by the GPS system from his state-of-the-art car, which was found burnt out in a disused quarry on June 3.

The prosecution argued data from the car on the 17 April shows Mr Whall was "scoping out" the area around Mr Corrigan's cottage.

During a police interview, Whall said that on the night of the shooting he was with friend Barrie Williams. He told police he was having an affair with him. Mr Williams denied the claims.

Whall admitted owning a crossbow but told police he had sold it months before the killing and a new one he ordered online was not delivered until after the shooting.

A punchbag, with holes in which suggested it had been used for target practice, was seized from the home Whall shared with his girlfriend in Bryngwran, Anglesey.

The two men showed no reaction as the verdicts were returned. They are due to be sentenced on Friday.

Partway through the trial, which lasted more than four weeks, Jones's brother, Darren Jones, 41, and his friend, Martin Roberts, 34, pleaded guilty to the arson of the Land Rover Discovery.

Following the verdict, Mr Corrigan's partner said he "meant the world" to her.

In a statement, Marie Bailey said, "Gerry was my partner in life, my best friend, he meant the world to me.

"Every day I am faced with the reality of no Gerry Corrigan in my life any more. Each day my heart is broken, I feel it breaking again and I can do nothing.

"For Gerry's family and friends I am sorry we have lost him, our lives poorer and somehow empty without him.

"To that sad, twisted broken soul who murdered him, I say if you have an ounce of humanity, any sense of decency then you would tell us now why you have done this."

She urged anyone who might know why Whall had carried out the murder to come forward.

She added: "To you, I will say this, I am sorry for you and you have been given what you deserve."