A jury have convicted a man of a murder in Folkestone after his accomplice admitted the same offence during the trial.
Victim Paul Wakefield was found with serious injuries at his home on the evening of Sunday 2 January 2022. He was taken to hospital and died the following day.
Following an investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, Shane Myles and Kayleigh Halliday were arrested and charged with Mr Wakefield’s murder.
Halliday, 36, formerly of Crown Road, Sittingbourne, pleaded guilty to the charge part-way through a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.
Myles, 31, formerly of Rock Avenue, Gillingham, was convicted of the same charge on Wednesday 10 August. Both will be sentenced on Friday 26 August.
Stabbed
Witness evidence showed that Mr Wakefield had received four visitors on the day of the attack, two of whom were Halliday and Myles.
The other two guests had left before Halliday and Myles severely beat the victim, who was also stabbed with a broken bottle. The pair then left the scene.
Mr Wakefield was discovered at 8.50pm and attending officers quickly established Halliday and Myles had been at the property.
They were tracked down and arrested elsewhere in Folkestone around three hours later. Myles had Mr Wakefield’s bank card on him and traces of the victim’s blood were found on both suspects’ shoes.
Detectives later used CCTV to work out the route taken by the pair following the attack and Mr Wakefield’s phone was found discarded on that route.
Halliday and Myles both tried to blame each other for the murder but Halliday changed her plea to guilty during the trial. Myles was later convicted by the jury.
Violent
Detective Inspector Ross Gurden of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: ‘These two offenders carried out an extremely violent and tragically fatal attack on a man who had invited them into his home.
‘Despite trying to blame each other for the crime, I am pleased the diligent work of our team means they will both now be sentenced for murder.
‘Mr Wakefield’s death was deeply upsetting for his family, friends and the local community and I hope the fact that his killers have been brought to justice provides some solace to those who knew him.’