Father-of-five ‘stripped naked and beaten to death in two-hour attack'

A ‘wheeler-dealer’ father-of-five was stripped naked and beaten to death by a trio of killers during a two-hour attack on an industrial estate, a court has heard.

Carl Woodall’s naked body was discovered at a unit in Doulton Road, Rowley Regis, West Midlands, by his son and his girlfriend on 28 June last year.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how a machete, a large knife and a wooden handle were used to thrash Mr Woodall, who sustained 141 injuries in the alleged attack.

His head “came into contact with machinery” which had been “strewn around the premises”, the court was told.

Other injuries were allegedly inflicted with a serrated blade, his face and head were heavily bruised and he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

A knife and a machete were recovered from the scene.

James McGhee of Nottingham; Mark Campbell, from Nottingham; and Simmion Goldbourne, of no fixed abode, all deny murdering Mr Woodall.

Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC alleged the defendants “acted together” and are accused of joint enterprise murder. "This attack did not arise from a sudden loss of control or a momentary loss of temper. Rather, it was sustained and deliberate and was carried out by men who had gone to the unit with a plan."

He added: "This was a joint enterprise in which they all shared a common intention to find and to take whatever they were hoping to obtain from that unit and within the scope of that plan, each was agreed that, if necessary, they were prepared, each of them, to kill Mr Woodall or at the very least, cause him very serious injury."

Jurors heard how Mr Woodall – known as Bert to friends and family – moved to a static caravan in a unit he rented at the industrial estate after separating from his ex-partner.

CCTV footage captured a silver Nissan Qashqai driven along Doulton Road by McGhee, 28, with passengers Goldbourne, 28, and Campbell, 39, inside at 1.15am.

Minutes later, Goldbourne and Campbell were seen on footage “looking around” the premises and “checking the access” before they returned to the car.

All three men then headed in the direction of Mr Woodall's caravan before Goldbourne and Campbell scaled a metal fence and entered the yard at the industrial unit.

McGhee went back to the car, where he waited for two hours for his accomplices, Heywood alleged.

At the time of his death, the rent on Mr Woodall’s caravan had increased to £375 and he was £1,120 in arrears.

Mr Woodall knew alleged killer Campbell through his stepsons Kieran and Joshua – with the three men meeting while they served jail terms at HMP Birmingham in 2018.

The trial continues.