Yahoo News Burglary victim, 87, died after intruders 'skinned' his hand, broke his ribs and punched him in the face, court hears
An 87-year-old died in hospital after burglars ‘skinned’ his hand, broke his ribs and punched him in the face, a murder trial has heard.
Arthur Gumbley was attacked by two men at his home when he asked them why they were there, jurors were told.
He died three weeks later from his injuries, which included four rib fractures, Stafford Crown Court heard.
Jason Wayne Wilsher, 20, of Barlestone Road, Bagworth, Leicestershire, is accused of being one of two men who attacked Mr Gumbley at his home in Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, in November 2017, stealing a watch and jewellery.
Wilsher denies murder and conspiracy to rob between November 18 and 26, 2017.
Opening the case against Wilsher, prosecutor Jacob Hallam QC told jurors that Mr Gumbley – who walked with the help of a stick – was watching television in his living room when two men broke into his kitchen.
“Hearing, from where he was in his home, the noise of movement somewhere else in it, Mr Gumbley got to his feet and made his way into the hallway,” he said.
“He asked them, in what he described to the police as a friendly way, what they wanted. The response he met with was immediate violence.
“He was punched to the face, knocked to the ground and at some stage kicked when he was lying on the floor.”
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Jurors were told that the skin was torn from one of Mr Gumbley’s hands as a watch was pulled forcibly from his wrist, leaving a “brutal and striking” injury.
Mr Hallam added: “He couldn’t remember precisely what was done to him but his body tells its own story, tragically. It was plain from marks on his body that he had been dragged.
“This case is not only the case of a man being struck, having the skin on his hand torn off and abrasions – punches to his face caused substantial areas of bruising.
“The attackers showed no regard at all to Arthur Gumbley’s age or his vulnerability. They simply saw him as a victim who needed to be overcome.”
Mr Gumbley was taken to hospital but died around three weeks later.
The court heard that Wilsher’s DNA was recovered from Mr Gumbley’s home and telephone analysis connected Wilsher to a mobile phone that was “central to the case”.
It is alleged that the conspiracy involved the robbery of another elderly man whose head was banged onto the hearth of a fire just days after the attack on Mr Gumbley.
The trial continues.
