Man dead for 12 days before discovery, court hears

Bodycam footage has shown the moment an "unofficial carer" accused of murdering a disabled man told paramedics he had been dead for "about 12 days".

The decomposing body of Leon Pratt, 64, was discovered wrapped in a duvet on a bed at his home in Telford, Shropshire, after concerned neighbours called 999.

The footage, released by West Mercia Police, shows Jason Trundle, 52, answering the door to the paramedics on 26 October 2024, and denying he had killed Pratt.

Trundle is on trial for Pratt's murder at Worcester Crown Court. He denies the charge, but has pleaded guilty to preventing a lawful burial and fraud by false representation after using Pratt's bank card in a shop while he lay dead.

Trundle had moved in with Pratt, who had several health conditions and used a wheelchair and walking sticks, after they met on social media, the court previously heard.

Jurors were told Trundle had nowhere to live and would provide day-to-day care for Pratt.

During a previous hearing, prosecution counsel Richard Barraclough KC said the pair had known each other for about a year-and-a-half,

"He told Mr Pratt he was homeless and was invited to live with him. He was Mr Pratt's unofficial carer," he said.

Neighbours in Downmeade, in Hollinswood, Telford, called emergency services to report they had not seen Pratt, who was described as "very switched on", since the end of September that year.

Barraclough told the jury during his opening speech that paramedics, who arrived at about 19:30 GMT, "could smell something putrid like rotting flesh coming from the property".

The paramedics' footage shows Trundle pointing to a closed bedroom door, and saying: "He's been dead for about 12 days."

He refused to answer any further questions other than to say he had found him dead on the bed, adding: "And no, before you ask, I didn't kill him."

Asked why he did not tell anyone Pratt had died, he told paramedics: "I've got nowhere else to go."

When police arrived, they asked him how Pratt died, to which Trundle responded "next question".

A post-mortem examination found Pratt had internal injuries to his ribs, lower back and his throat and neck structures, the court heard.

Several fractured ribs would have been caused by a force equivalent to a fall from standing height onto a hard surface, with seven fractures to part of the neck "most probably caused by manual strangulation", Barraclough told the jury.

"Considerable force is required to cause those injuries," he added.

While two rib fractures on the left-hand side of Mr Pratt's body may have been caused by attempts to resuscitate him, the defendant does not suggest he performed CPR.

Trundle has admitted manslaughter, a plea rejected by the Crown.

"That means he accepts that he unlawfully caused the death of Mr Pratt by a deliberate act, we would say by assaulting him, knowing he would do him some harm," Barraclough said.

"The Crown alleges that what he did to Mr Pratt was far more serious than simply manslaughter. The Crown alleges he murdered Mr Pratt.

"The Crown alleges that when the defendant caused the death of Mr Pratt, as he accepts he did, he must have intended to at least cause him really serious harm."

The court heard that in the week before the body was discovered, Trundle told neighbours the victim had not been in a good place mentally and had threatened to hit his pet dog with his walking stick.

He had "gone a bit crazy" and "proper lost it" on medication which led to the defendant putting the victim in a headlock, he said.

The trial continues.

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