Burnley man in double murder case said victim was ‘doing his head in’

Kenneth Howson told Preston Crown Court today he hit James Atkinson about six times with the bottle, to shut him up. When he had stopping hitting him, the 55-year-old was not in a good state, but still breathing.

He denies killing him and the occupant of the flat in Waddington Avenue, Burnley, last October.

Howson (25), of Williams Road, Burnley, has begun giving evidence at his trial where he and 23-year-old Daniel Waddington of Pine Street, Burnley, deny murdering Mr Atkinson and Neil Gilmore (55).

The prosecution say both men died as a result of savage beatings.

Mr Atkinson had been the partner of Howson’s mum, Pamela Brown, who died last September, having earlier been taken to hospital with a suspected insulin overdose. Howson said the man had been violent to his mother in the past.

Howson told the court he had not been planning to kill Mr Atkinson. His barrister, Mr Peter Wright QC, asked him: “Were you up for doing him in?” The defendant replied “No”.

On a night last October Howson said he was at Mr Gilmore’s flat, where Mr Atkinson was staying. Howson claimed the man started talking about his mother, trying to say how good he had been to her. He told the jury: “I was asking him to shut up. It was doing my head in. It was getting to me.”

Howson said he had not used a piece of wood on the man and took no part in violence upon Mr Gilmore.

Howson claimed that, on entering the front room, he saw Daniel Waddington hitting Mr Gilmore with a stick and also stamped on his head. He alleged he asked Waddington “What’s happened? What have you done?”

After that, Howson claimed Waddington began attacking Mr Atkinson in the bedroom with the stick and headbutted him to the face. He said he intervened there by tackling him off the bed.

The defendant accepted having taken three photos of the two men on his mobile phone before leaving, but told the court “I do not know why”.

“I felt ashamed of taking the photos, more so of Gilly”, he said. Howson added he felt “bad” about what he had done to Mr Atkinson and what had happened to Mr Gilmore.

The bottle and stick were buried in a field.

The trial continues.

There’s more on this dramatic court case in Friday’s newspaper.