Courts

A Spalding man who admitted a series of sex attacks has been jailed for 11 years. Paul Jennings was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and given a life-time sexual offences prevention order. Mr Justice Goss, passing sentence at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday (July 20), said Jennings had regarded his victim as an easy target. The ...

The jury in the trial of the six teenagers accused of the murder of Spalding man Warren Free is to continue its deliberations on Monday (July 20). The jury of six men and six women at Lincoln Crown Court spent Thursday afternoon and Friday deliberating without reaching any verdicts before they were sent home for the weekend by the trial judge Mr Justice Goss. None of ...

Jurors in the trial of six teenagers accused of the murder of Spalding man Warren Free were told on Tuesday (July 14) that a 14-year-old girl accused of the killing did not deliver any of the blows that led to his death. Michael Evans QC, representing the girl, told the jury in his closing speech: “You have to decide the ...

The prosecution in the trial of six teenagers accused of murdering Warren Free has produced no evidence that one of the defendants was involved in the fatal attack, the jury was told on Monday.   Miranda Moore QC, representing one of the male defendants, who was 14 at the time, said the evidence during the trial indicated her client felt ...

One of the teenagers accused of perverting the course of justice by disposing of the weapon alleged to have been used in the incident that led to the death of Spalding man Warren Free has changed his plea and admitted the offence. The boy, who was 16 at the time of the incident, entered his new plea on Wednesday (July 8), admitting he ...

A Spalding woman’s story in court which sought to blame a mysterious man in a white van for cruelty to a dog was not believed by magistrates. Charmaine Grogan (25) was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to Pepper, a female Patterdale-type terrier, between June 24 and July 2, 2014. Skegness magistrates heard that Grogan had failed to seek proper ...

The six teenagers accused of murdering Warren Free have chosen not to give evidence in their trial. Barristers representing the six each told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday that their clients would not be going into the witness box to give evidence. Timothy Spencer QC, representing a boy who was 14 at the time of the incident, ...

Warren Free, who was allegedly murdered by six teenagers, had previously suffered brain damage when he was the victim of a machete attack, the jury was told on Wednesday (July 1). Lincoln Crown Court heard that the incident in 2003 occurred in the North Wales town of Colwyn Bay. Daniel Bishop, for the prosecution, said: “Warren Free was attacked with ...

One of the teenagers accused of murdering Spalding man Warren Free admitted he suggested that a metal pole used to attack the 42-year-old should be thrown away to avoid the chance of police finding any fingerprints, a jury was told on Thursday (June 25). The boy, who was 14 at the time of the incident, told officers that as he walked ...

A teenage girl accused of murdering Spalding man Warren Free later complained that her foot was injured when she kicked him in the head, a jury heard on Wednesday (June 24). The 15-year-old, who was interviewed by police on four occasions after being arrested, said that the kick she delivered was the final blow suffered by Mr Free during an incident in a ...

A 15-year-old girl accused of murder told a relative that she struck the victim four times with a metal pole, a jury was told on Tuesday (June 23). The relative, who cannot be identified because of a court order, told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that she collected the girl from outside shops on Pennygate, Spalding and took her home. The 15-year-old ...

Spalding man Warren Free had more than 50 external injuries, jurors in the trial of six youths accused of his murder were told today (Mon).   Pathologist Stuart Hamilton told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that Mr Free suffered bleeding of the brain and died as a result of head injuries after he was allegedly attacked when he confronted the ...

A teenager has told the Warren Free murder trial jury that he witnessed an attack which left the Spalding man with fatal injuries. The boy, who cannot be identified, told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that Mr Free was put to the ground by Jake Edwards, who then punched and kicked him. He told the jury that he thought a 16-year-old boy was ...

A group of teenagers alleged to have murdered a Spalding man after he confronted them over late-night noise at first thought the incident was a joke, a jury heard on Thursday. A youngster, who was with the group on the evening but was not charged with any offence arising out of the incident, told the jury that although initially the incident was seen ...

Someone in the group who attacked murder victim Warren Free is alleged to have said as they walked away: “Oh s***, what if he’s dead?” Lincoln Crown Court heard that the group was relieved when they looked round and saw the father-of-two getting to his feet after the incident near his home in Coronation Close in Spalding on August 28 ...

A 15-year-old girl accused of murder later admitted to striking the victim over the head with a metal pole, a jury was told on Tuesday (June 16). The girl – one of six teenagers on trial accused of the murder of Spalding man Warren Free – allegedly made the admission to her own sister shortly before she handed herself in to police. ...

Six juveniles murdered a Spalding father-of-two in a row over broken fencing at his home, a court has heard. It was claimed on Monday (June 15) that Warren Free was kicked, punched, stamped upon and repeatedly struck with a metal pole which he had taken with him as he confronted the group, who were causing an early-hours disturbance. The Crown ...

Two people who carried out a “cowardly” attack in Spalding which left a man with serious injuries have been given sentences totalling 17 years. Franky McCarthy (21), of Cowbit Road, and Craig Addison, (19), of Balmoral Avenue in the town struck as their victim was walking home with a friend at the end of a night out. McCarthy was jailed for ...

A father-of-two who drowned in Spalding was said to have never got over witnessing a fatal farm accident nine months earlier. Robin Chappell (71), who was killed in the farm incident last year, was looked upon by 41-year-old Vladeks Sinavskis “like a father”. An inquest last week into Mr Sinavskis’s death heard that his drug taking increased after the tragic ...

A former Holbeach man has been detained in a secure facility under a hospital order after being found guilty of manslaughter with diminished responsibility. During a four day trial at Stafford Crown Court the jury heard that Krysztof Mroz (36), formerly of Spencer Gardens, killed 73-year-old Alan Goode in the cell they both shared at HMP Lincoln. Mr Goode, from ...