Drink 'no excuse', Shropshire barracks murder trial is told
A soldier knew what he was doing when he "savagely" murdered his colleague at an Army barracks in Shropshire, a jury has been told.
Lance Corporal Richard Farrell could not use being drunk or failing to remember his actions as excuses for killing Corporal Geoffrey McNeill, according to Mr Christopher Hotten QC, prosecuting.
He told Birmingham Crown Court that he believed Farrell knew what he was doing and had been responsible for killing Corporal McNeill in his room at the Clive Barracks at Tern Hill, near Market Drayton, on March 8.
The prosecution say that Corporal McNeill suffered blows to the head, stomach and genitals, although the cause of his death was "significant" pressure to the neck which fractured three vertebrae.
Farrell, who denies murder, and Corporal McNeill had been out drinking in Market Drayton which resulted in Farrell being punched by Corporal McNeill at the Sandbrook Vaults on Shropshire Street.
In the early hours of that morning Corporal McNeill was killed at the barracks after both soldiers had returned, just minutes apart, close to 3am.
Farrell claims he had no memory of the events after returning to the barracks and his whereabouts are unknown until 6.30am when he was found curled up asleep in the guardhouse.
Mr Hotten said: "We say the evidence shows Richard Farrell was the killer. He may well have been drunk, but being drunk is not an excuse – you are responsible for your actions drunk or sober.
"It is not an excuse to say you can't remember the crime you committed.
"We would suggest the killer did know what they were doing.
"He got to the room of Geoffrey McNeill and got away from the room and attacked Geoffrey McNeill in a vulnerable part of his body while he struggled to release himself."
A Home Office pathologist report had shown bruising to Corporal McNeill's testicles, neck and face, which Mr Hotten said must have been caused while he was still alive.
Mr Hotten said: "In order to get a bruise you need a beating heart to force blood from the blood vessels."
It was Farrell, 23, who that morning reported Corporal McNeill dead saying he had gone to the room to apologise for his actions the night before.
He says he tried to resuscitate Corporal McNeill.
The prosecution allege Farrell killed Corporal McNeill in a revenge attack for the punch.
The court was told that just hours before his death, Corporal McNeill told a pub landlord that Farrell had threatened him.
Laurence Payne, landlord of the Sandbrook Vaults - where Farrell and Corporal McNeill got into an altercation in the early hours of March 8 – said he had spoken to Corporal McNeill moments after he had punched Farrell in the face.
Giving evidence at Birmingham Crown Court, Mr Payne said: "I asked why he had hit him and he said 'because he threatened me'."
The prosecution say Farrell, 23, later murdered Corporal McNeill in a revenge attack back at the barracks.
Describing the scene before the punch, Mr Payne said: "Richey (Farrell) was very exuberant and lively. He was really cheerful – perhaps excessively so.
"Richey was paying for most of the drinks and being excessively generous, he was throwing the money across the bar and kept saying to keep the change."
After escorting Farrell out of the pub following the punch, Mr Payne said he was not aggressive in his language or behaviour and seemed bemused as to why he had been punched. He also said he had seen no threatening behaviour from Farrell but said his exuberance had begun to agitate him.
Mr Payne said Farrell had been a regular customer and had not been in trouble before and had liked him.
Olivia Barton was at the pub talking to Corporal McNeill when the punch was thrown.
She told the court she saw the punch but heard no words spoken between the pair before the punch was thrown.
Also giving evidence, bar manager James Jewel said he had seen Corporal McNeill using aggressive body language towards another customer in the pub earlier in the night, although there was no altercation. But Mr Jewel said he had felt he had to keep an eye on Corporal McNeill.
Farrell has insisted he does not remember anything after returning to the barracks
Farrell denies murdering Corporal McNeill.
The trial continues.
