A man who was allegedly attacked in his own home after wrongfully being accused of stealing a man’s bank card died 16 days after the alleged incident
A man never regained consciousness after allegedly being attacked over a stolen bank card.
Jonathan Hutty died at the age of 49 after he was found with a head injury in his flat in Hull. Three men have denied murdering him after allegedly attacking him when one wrongly believed he had stolen a bank card from him.
Hull Crown Court heard how Mr Hutty was allegedly “left for dead” in the early hours of the morning. He was unconscious on the floor and face down in a pool of blood.
It’s claimed the three men had gone to “sort him out” over the apparent theft. However, one of the trio is said to have kept quiet that he was the one who actually had the missing bank card. Instead, he is said to have blamed Mr Hutty after trying to use the card himself.
The court heard how the man had allegedly told his friend Mr Hutty was behind the card going missing. The wrong information is said to had “fuelled” the friend’s anger, with the duo – plus a third man – said to have gone to Mr Hutty’s flat to confront him.
Ian Smalley, 54, Gavin Leaning, 51, and Leon Smith, 23, all from Hull, deny murdering Mr Hutty. He died on March 11, two weeks after an incident on February 24. Two weeks prior to the incident, Smalley went to a bank on February 12 and reported that his bank card was missing. He had suspected it had been stolen and is said to have still been “aggrieved” about this on the night of the attack.
Michelle Colborne KC, prosecuting, told the court: “What he didn’t know was that Gavin Leaning had been in possession of the card. It was then said Leaning had unsuccessfully tried to use Smalley’s bank card at a petrol station, with the card being declined in the early hours of February 12.
Hull Live reports Leaning did not tell Smalley about having the bank card and it being declined. Instead, it’s claimed he told Smalley that Mr Hutty had stolen the card in an alleged attempt to “deflect the blame” from himself, according to Miss Colborne.
It’s said that during the evening of February 24, Smalley asked Mr Hutty if he had taken the bank card, to which Mr Hutty “insisted” he had not. While there was no trouble about this at the time, Miss Colborne said: “That wasn’t to be the end of the matter.”
The publication reports that Mr Hutty was in his flat at about 1.55am when Smalley, Leaning and Smith went down in a lift to the flat. The trio were were seen on CCTV pictures. Miss Colborne claims that Mr Hutty opened the door to them and was knocked to the floor in his living room before allegedly being “set upon”.
All three men are said to have run away from the flat without making any attempt to help him or alert the emergency services, instead it’s claimed Mr Hutty was “left for dead”. He never recovered consciousness and 16 days later died in hospital of brain injuries.
The trial continues.
