Man killed his neighbour before attacking a 74-year-old, court hears

A man killed his neighbour before going to the nearby home of a 74-year-old and attacking him, a trial has heard.Timothy Dundon, 66, was found in his flat in Neath on April 27 after a neighbour raised concerns about his welfare with a housing association.

Mr Dundon's upstairs neighbour, Emmet Morrison, 38, is accused of murdering him on the night of April 25 before going to the home of 74-year-old Antonio Aprea, who lived nearby, and attacking him.Despite denying murdering Mr Dundon, Morrison has admitted a charge of manslaughter, saying he killed his victim after a loss of control.

The defendant also denies a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent in regard to the second incident, claiming he was acting in self defence.

Morrison's trial, which took place at Swansea Crown Court yesterday (2 December), heard detailed evidence on the injuries Mr Dundon suffered from forensic pathologist Richard Jones.

Dr Jones told the jury he attended the deceased's flat on Heol Catwg in Caerwen on 28 April, along with crime scene officers, and described how Mr Dundon was found laying face down on the floor of his living room underneath a wooden glass-fronted cabinet.The court heard a report found Mr Dundon had "probably" survived for two hours after being assaulted, but Dr Jones said it could have been considerably less than that.

The cause of death was given as blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and the pathologist said he found nothing to contradict the prosecution assertion that Mr Dundon had died on the night of 25 April.The court also heard evidence from Mr Aprea, the pensioner the Crown say Morrison attacked shortly after fatally assaulting Mr Dundon.

Mr Aprea told the court that shortly after 10pm on 25 April a man came to his Llygad-Yr-Haul flat.

He said he had seen the man - it is not disputed the caller was the defendant Morrison - only twice before, and did not know his name. 

Mr Aprea told the court the defendant said he had killed someone and was asking for Valium tablets.

However, when the witness told him he didn't have any, he proceeded to attack him.

Under cross-examination from John Hipkin KC for the defence, Mr Aprea denied being a Valium dealer though said he had been one "35 years ago".

The witness denied an assertion by Mr Hipkin that Morrison had been a "customer" of his, and when the barrister pointed to a time when the witness had tried to call Morrison 16 times in one day, and to a text on Mr Aprea's phone where he talked about doing a deal with someone for "four boxes", the witness accused counsel of lying.Mr Aprea said "He [Morrison] killed him 100 per cent - 150 per cent and he would have killed me if I didn't take the knife off him" adding the defendant was "full of lies" and was a "grass".Emmet Morrison, of Heol Catwg, Caewern, Neath denies murder and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.

The trial continues.