Murder trial shown hospital footage of victim, 94

A murder trial has seen footage of a 94-year-old attack victim talking to detectives from his hospital bed, 10 hours before dying from injuries.

Paul Topham denies killing pensioner Harold Monk during an attempted burglary on his Wolverhampton flat on 3 October last year.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the 45-year-old, of Palmerston Road in Birmingham, was involved in an early hours rooftop stand-off with police shortly afterwards.

In footage shown to jurors, Mr Monk was seen communicating through an oxygen mask with severe bruises to his arms and face.

The incident happened at Inglewood Court in the Bradmore area, a sheltered housing scheme for residents over 55.

Mr Monk, who was known to friends as Harry, told detectives he awoke in the early hours to see a male figure wearing black clothes and a face covering.

His words were difficult to make out in the video shown to jurors, but he could be heard saying he asked the man what he was doing in the property before being pushed over.

"He must have jumped on top of me because I could feel his weight on my body and then he started [punching] my face," Mr Monk said in the video.

On Thursday, the court heard the 999 call and witness interview of David Belcher, a neighbour of Mr Monk.

Mr Belcher said he heard banging and groaning before going to investigate and encountering Mr Monk's attacker.

"The man was on top of [Mr Monk] and there was a struggle going on," Mr Belcher told the call operator.

"The masked man told me 'F off' which I promptly did because I was scared."

The prosecution said the defendant came into possession of Mr Monk's key fob and flat key, potentially during a visit to his mother Janet Reznik, who also lived in Inglewood Court.

Ms Reznik gave evidence on Thursday, speaking from behind a curtain for her own comfort.

She said Mr Topham had stayed the night at her property the weekend before the incident, something he occasionally did.

While her son had previously worked as a stonemason, Ms Reznik agreed he had struggled with an "out of control drug addiction" and had been known to commit burglaries to feed his habit.

Ms Reznik explained there had been a family argument the evening before Mr Monk's death, with her son said to be "angry" about questions over his friendship group.

The mother told the court she had "no idea" her son had returned to the sheltered accommodation complex hours later.

She said Mr Topham and Mr Monk did not know each other, and she only found out her son had been arrested when the police knocked on her door.

The trial continues.

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