Neighbour heard murder victim's screams - court

The screams of a woman whose body was found dumped in a shallow woodland grave were heard by her accused killer's neighbour, who dialled 999, a court has heard.

Police attended and searched the property of Mohammed Durnion, on Paynes Lane in Coventry, on 21 May, but failed to find the body of Reanne Coulson, which was believed to have been hidden under a mattress, jurors heard.

The 33-year-old's body was found five weeks later on the outskirts of the city.

Durnion, 42, denies murder, while Adam Moore, 39, of Marlcroft, Willenhall, Coventry, denies assisting an offender in helping dispose of her body.

Prosecutor Tim Cray KC told Warwick Crown Court the victim had last been seen shortly before 22:00 on 21 May after attending a support group at a local church.

"She appeared well and was chatting to the staff who were present," the court heard.

About an hour or so later, the prosecutor said, a man living about 350 yards away from the church heard a woman "screaming in fear", with the sound coming from Durnion's flat.

After the neighbour called the police, the court heard, officers searched Durnion's address but did not see Coulson or her body inside.

Telling jurors there was an "element of horror" to the evidence, Cray alleged that Durnion had hidden the victim's body under a mattress from officers, who arrived within 12 minutes of the emergency call.

The prosecutor claimed Durnion then put her body in a suitcase, before driving to the woodland, where later that day and with the help of Moore, he buried her body in a shallow grave.

Cray said Durnion "agrees that he was the last person to see Reanne alive and also agrees that he buried her body in the woods".

"He picked her up believing she was a sex worker but says that there was no sexual contact between them that night," he told the court.

Jurors were told Durnion claimed Coulson became sick and appeared to have overdosed in his bedroom.

Fearing that he would be held responsible for her death, Durnion said he put Coulson's body in a suitcase, drove to Binley Woods and then buried her.

"We say that the timing and circumstances suggest that this was a deliberate attack by a powerfully-built man, on a vulnerable and defenceless woman who he had taken back to his address", said Cray.

"One of the circumstances to look at is how long they had been together in the flat.

"The evidence is that the attack began within a minute of the defendant arriving at the flat around 11:22pm.

"Is that really long enough to take drugs, get high, start arguing and overdose, or is that timing consistent with some sort of sudden, fatal attack?"

The jury also heard how Coulson, who was a sex worker and drug user, had been attending a support group for women vulnerable to sexual exploitation at St Mary's and Benedict's Church in Raglan Street, Hillfields.

Later the court was played a recording of the 999 call in which screams could be heard, and the jury also saw police body cam footage of the search of Durnion's flat in which officers failed to find her body.

Coulson's partially-clothed body was found on 27 June, after Durnion became distressed and took officers to land near the former Coventry Speedway stadium in Binley Woods.

He made a comment about taking "stupid amounts" of cocaine, and said he had used a shovel to dig a hole, Cray told the court.

"There was a strong smell of petrol and there were visible burn and soot injuries to the side of Reanne's face and body.

"The subsequent post-mortem examination found marks of injury to Reanne's head and neck.

"In the opinion of the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem, the head and neck injuries - bruising and the like - had been caused when Reanne was still alive.

"In contrast, the burn injuries to Reanne's face and side had been caused after her death, as if someone had tried to destroy that part of her body, or maybe her identity," Cray added.

The four-week trial continues.

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