44-year-old died from serious head injuries at a flat in Greenheys Gardens in February
9:57 am Neil Docking
A man is to be sentenced today for the murder of Toxteth mum Kay Diamond.
The 44-year-old died from serious head injuries at a flat in Greenheys Gardens in February.
Anthony Blye, 52, of Greenhey Gardens, Toxteth, initially denied her murder but pleaded guilty ahead of a trial on Monday.
Police were called to the address, which is run by Liverpool Mutual Homes and lies between Croxteth Grove and Croxteth Road near Sefton Park, on Saturday, February 28.
Ms Diamond’s death was initially treated as unexplained, but a post mortem examination revealed she died from “blunt force trauma”.
Ms Diamond’s family was hit by a further tragedy in April, when her daughter Rachelle Owen, 16, was struck by a train close to Hoylake station.
Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious.
10:34 am Neil Docking PROSECUTION
The judge is Judge David Aubrey, QC.
The case is being prosecuted by Brian Cummings, QC.
Blye is being defended by Christopher Tehrani, QC, and his junior Wayne Jackson.
Mr Cummings says: “This case even by the standard of murder cases is perhaps particularly sensitive.”
10:38 am Neil Docking GUILTY PLEA
Mr Cummings says Blye entered his guilty plea to murder on Monday.
The Crown say this was carried out with an intent to kill, which is disputed by the defendant.
A legal discussion is being held between the two barristers and the judge.
10:43 am Neil Docking SHORT DELAY
Judge Aubrey has granted a short delay to allow Mr Tehrani to speak to his client.
11:18 am Neil Docking DISPUTED FACTS
Mr Tehrani says the defendant is in “an emotional state of mind”.
He says Blye wants to give evidence and call witnesses to determine whether he had intent to kill Miss Diamond.
Mr Tehrani says he is sorry for the situation that has arisen.
He suggests that Mr Cummings opens the case, the judge hears his mitigation on behalf of Blye and then makes a decision about the relevance of this disputed intent.
11:18 am Neil Docking OPENING
Mr Cummings says Blye and Kay Diamond were in a relationship.
“The defendant has a reputation as a bully.”
He says there was a background of domestic violence, eight incidents in the year before she died, but she would not support prosecution.
The couple lived in Greenheys Gardens just off Lodge Lane in Toxteth.
Mr Cummings says that following an incident on Wednesday, February 11 this year, Blye was made subject to a Domestic Violence Prevention Order.
On Saturday, February 14 he was arrested for breaching that order and received a 28-day prison sentence.
“During the time he was serving that sentence Miss Diamond told witnesses that the defendant was going to kill her.”
A witness said she was “frightened for her life” and “petrified”.
He was released on the morning of February 27.
Mr Cummings says within less than 24 hours, Kay Diamond was dead.
11:21 am Neil Docking AGGRESSIVE
Mr Cummings says that on the day of Blye’s release from prison, he returned to the Lodge Lane area and was behaving “aggressively".
The defendant went there with Miss Diamond and demanded to know from Halliday if she had been in company with a man named Louis Brown during the time that he had been in prison.
Mr Cummings says: "When Halliday said that she had, the defendant became aggressive towards Kay Diamond."
He accused her of lying when she denied it and threatened to snap one of her legs.
11:21 am Neil Docking ‘PERVING ON ME BIRD’
Near to the defendant’s address in Croxteth Road was an establishment offering supported accommodation to vulnerable adults.
One of these people was Christopher Dean, who was known to Blye.
Mr Dean had a support worker named Christopher Connor.
At about 3pm Mr Connor was waiting at a bus stop on Lodge Lane when he was approached by Blye, who Mr Cummings says was speaking loudly and "right in his face".
He says Blye said: "Can you get it logged in your book for Chris to stay out of my flat and stop perving on my bird… he’s just got me 28 days in prison for false accusations against me bird. He’s perving on me bird".
11:22 am Neil Docking DEBTS AND THREATS
Another local man, Adrian Collins, was in debt to Blye.
The court hears that he had borrowed £40 from Blye but the rate of ‘interest’ charged by the defendant meant he was expected to pay back £180.
At around 6.30pm, Mr Collins was on Croxteth Road with his cousin Elaine Blackshaw, when he was "accosted" by Blye.
Mr Cummings says that Blye demanded to know where his money was and Collins said he had given £100 of it to Miss Diamond the previous week, while Blye was still in prison.
Mr Cummings says: "The defendant became extremely angry, saying that Miss Diamond had been in his words ‘taking the piss out of his flat’ by having people round to the flat during his absence and the defendant was also complaining that she had not given him the money, which Collins said he had handed to her.
"The defendant made threats about what he was going to do to Miss Diamond ‘when she wakes up’.
"According to Collins, this included the defendant saying that he was ‘going to f***ing batter her, going to f***ing kill her’."
11:22 am Neil Docking DRUGS AND ALCOHOL
Mr Cummings says Blye spent the evening in the flats of two local men, Mr Halliday and William O’Shaughnessey.
He says: "During that time the defendant consumed alcohol and drugs, crack cocaine and cannabis, and presented as angry and agitated.
"He was convinced that during his absence in prison Miss Diamond had been sleeping with Louis Brown and spending his money."
The court hears that on more than one occasion the defendant left to return to his own flat, to check on his "girl".
11:23 am Neil Docking ‘BEATEN UP’
The following morning at around 10am, Mr Halliday heard Blye shouting his name from the street outside his home.
He went down and opened the door.
Mr Cummings says Blye had his dog with him and was saying: "You need to come round, it’s Kay, Tony, I can’t move her."
The court hears that Halliday went with Blye who continued to talk, saying that Louis Brown had broken in and beaten up Miss Diamond.
He claimed that during that time he had been taking his dog for a walk.
Mr Cummings says Blye said he could not rouse Miss Diamond and she was not responding.
11:24 am Neil Docking BODY DISCOVERED
When the pair arrived at the flat, Blye said he did not have the key and left Mr Halliday at the front with the dog while he went round to the back to climb in through a rear window and open the door from inside.
When Mr Halliday entered the flat, Mr Cummings says he saw Miss Diamond lying face up, naked on the living room floor.
He says: "He could see immediately that she was in his words ‘not just beaten up but completely unresponsive’.
"He attempted chest compressions but when, after about a minute, he realised that he was not getting anywhere, he went outside in order to dial 999 for an ambulance.
"During this time he noticed that the defendant also left the flat and disappeared behind the building."
11:25 am Neil Docking 999 CALL
Mr Halliday told the operator that Blye might be the attacker.
Mr Cummings says Blye returned and took the phone from Mr Halliday, telling the operator that he had gone to walk his dog and walked in to find his girlfriend.
He says: "He said that Louis Brown had been there the previous night and that his girlfriend was scared of Brown because he used to bully her."
During the call both men re-entered the flat and Mr Halliday tried chest compressions again under the operator’s guidance.
PC Graham Owen arrived at the scene at 10.38am and took over, followed by paramedics.
Despite their efforts, Miss Diamond was pronounced dead at 11.03am.
11:25 am Neil Docking ARREST
Shortly before that, Blye was cautioned and arrested on suspicion of assaulting Miss Diamond.
He made no reply and was taken to Wavertree Road custody suite.
He was then cautioned and further arrested on suspicion of murder, to which he replied "wow, don’t say that I’ve done nothing".
Blye was later interviewed with a legal representative and an appropriate adult.
He was interviewed shortly after midnight on Sunday, March 1 and again between 3pm and 8pm.
He provided three prepared statements and answered "no comment" to questions asked.
11:26 am Neil Docking ‘REASONABLE SELF DEFENCE’
In his first statement, Blye said he and Miss Diamond had both been drinking and that an argument started in the early hours because she wanted to continue drinking and he did not want her to.
He said that she "came at" him and that he recalled grabbing her face and pushing her away.
Blye said she kept coming at him and he "kept kicking her away".
He recalled a moment that she "fell hard to the floor" and said things eventually calmed down.
The defendant said she got undressed and they spent the night together on the sofa.
He said in the morning he woke up and went out, adding: "Kay was on the couch. She seemed fine. She was breathing fine."
11:26 am Neil Docking
He said that he went to get a loaf of bread and then went to Mr Halliday’s.
Blye said he gained entry as Mr Halliday said and that he told him to call an ambulance when he said Miss Diamond was not breathing.
He finished the statement by saying: "I deny the offence of murder. I did not intend Kay to come to any harm. I acted in reasonable self defence when she continually came at me."
11:29 am Neil Docking LOUIS BROWN
Blye later said that since his first statement he had become more and more concerned that Miss Diamond may have been harmed at the hands of Louis Brown.
He said he believed that during his time in prison Mr Brown had been staying in the flat with Miss Diamond and thought he may have a key. He said she told him he had been aggressive to her and took money from her.
He also said that Greenheys Gardens had "certain properties where people can just come and go and use drugs" and suggested Mr Brown may have been staying in a flat nearby.
He said late on Friday night or in the early hours of Saturday morning he had bumped into Mr Brown near to the main entrance to the flats and "pulled him up" about staying in the flats.
11:33 am Neil Docking DENIAL
Blye said that when he met Adrian Collins, he had told him that he had given the money owed to him to Miss Diamond "when she was with a baldy head fella" which he thought was Mr Brown.
He said he was cross about this because it showed she had been with Mr Brown but denied that he had made "any sort of threats about Kay to Adrian Collins".
Blye also maintained that it was only after he returned to the flat with Mr Halliday that he became alarmed and said he was not in a panic beforehand. He Mr Halliday was wrong about that.
Blye also denied threatening to snap her leg.
He said that when Halliday made the 999 call he went behind the flats "to take a deep breath as he was in shock".
Judge Aubrey says Mr Brown was interviewed under caution because of what he said.
11:33 am Neil Docking CCTV
Police obtained and viewed CCTV footage from Lodge Lane which showed Blye left the flats on Saturday, February 28 between 9.13am and 9.39am.
He went to a bookmakers’ shop and an off-licence, and obtained a loaf of bread from a delivery driver.
Mr Cummings says he returned to Greenheys Gardens at around 9.45am.
He says another resident saw the defendant tying his dog up behind the flats and he untied it around 10.05am.
He says he spent the better part of 20 minutes inside the flat, before emerging at 10.05am and going to see Mr Halliday under the pretence of raising the alarm.
11:35 am Neil Docking OBJECT
Mr Cummings says that at 10.15am Blye returned with Mr Halliday.
He says CCTV shows Blye at 10.20am "running away from the rear of the premises carrying an object in his right hand".
The court hears that three minutes later he is shown with nothing in his hands.
Mr Cummings says: "Whatever it was that the defendant had disposed of at this time has never been recovered."
The prosecution can’t say what it was. Mr Cummings says disposing of it and his behaviour was unusual. He says : “It demonstrated his calculating and indifferent behaviour when he must have believed his partner was either dead or dying.”
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/