DESIGNER ‘BEATEN TO DEATH WITH BAT’, COURT TOLD
20/10/2005
A WEB designer was beaten to death with a baseball bat by a friend who then set fire to the house they shared, a court has heard.
Michael Rogers-Wilson, 32, appeared at the Old Bailey last week accused of the murder of flatmate Brett Youngs, 28, as well as arson.
Jurors were told that the defendant, after committing his crimes, fled the burning building, endangering the lives of his other flatmates.
Mr Youngs was a respected computer programmer and part-time DJ who lived in a squat in Northbrook Road, Lewisham, the court heard.
His brother was going out with the sister of Rogers-Wilson, who moved into the squat after running away from his parents’ farm in Surrey.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend in late May 2003, the court heard, many of the pair’s housmates had gone to a rave in Hertfordshire but the defendant stayed at home with Mr Youngs, who suffered from eczema.
Sir John Nutting, prosecuting, said: “The victim stayed in London.
“He did so in order to avoid the temptations associated with raves of drink and drugs, which he knew would be likely to exacerbate his skin condition.”
On the Bank Holiday Monday, Rogers-Wilson is said to have left to get the train back to Surrey but returned to the squat.
“The defendant returned to the property, suggesting that he had, in fact, missed his train from Waterloo and not gone to Surrey as he had apparently planned,” said Sir Nutting.
It was that night that another squatter heard Mr Youngs arguing with another man and the sound of a dog’s claws, with Mr Nutting inviting jurors to conclude that this dog belonged to the defendant.
Sir Nutting said: “The allegation is that, in the early hours of May 27, 2003, this defendant lost his temper and beat the man about the head and then subsequently set fire to the bedding under which the body lay.
“The instrument that the Crown say he probably used intending to bring about the death of Brett Youngs was a baseball bat or some similar weapon, causing serious injury from which he died before the fire started.
“Having murdered him, it is clear from the evidence that the defendant used an accelerant — probably petrol — in order to ensure that his crime was covered up and, in particular, to ensure that the body was so badly burned that what he had done would not be visible to any investigators.”
The court heard that the victim suffered a fractured skull and that a “considerable degree of force” would have been required to inflict the injuries. The charred remains of a baseball bat were later found at the flat.
“His [Rogers-Wilson’s] attempt to start the fire plainly endangered the lives of others,” said Sir Nutting.
“They were lucky to escape with their lives and only did so because one alerted the others.”
Rogers-Wilson did call the fire brigade later that morning after suffering “pangs of conscience” and turned up at his parents’ farm, before travelling to Brighton to look for accommodation.
In a mobile phone call to a friend at the squat, the court heard, he said he was woken by the fire and fled.
He was arrested at the farm later that night, refusing to answer questions when interviewed by police.
Rogers-Wilson, of Little Heath Farm, Little Heath Lane, Oxshott, denies all charges.
The trial continues.
