Man cleared of murder confessed to wife about burglary at dead pensioner’s home, inquest told
A man with a propensity for violence confessed to his wife about his role in a burglary that ended in the suspicious death of a pensioner, an inquest has heard.. Doreen Morris, 64, was found dead at her Penrhyn Uchaf bungalow near Holyhead in 1994. Police later charged Carl Westbury with her murder. He went on trial at Chester Crown Court the following year, but was found not guilty.
Mrs Morris’s family, including her daughter Audrey Fraser had spent years campaigning for an inquest to establish the facts of how she died after her caused of death had been recorded as “unascertained” in the interim after the initial 1995 inquest was adjourned. A resumed inquest in December last year heard that Mr Westbury took his own life in May 2016, North Wales Live reported.
Previously, it was known that a dining fork was discovered under Mrs Morris’s body. At the time, a pathologist could not find a cause of death. However, an inquest on Tuesday in Caernarfon, heard that Mr Westbury had made confessions to different people following the incident, including to his wife, Emma Westbury.
The inquest heard that vulnerable Mrs Morris had been stabbed in the neck with a fork while home alone one night before her property was set ablaze. Neighbours called 999 at around 1.27am on the morning of March 25 1994, with Gwynedd Fire Service arriving within minutes. Police later found that glass in the back door of the property had been smashed an entry had been forced.
At around 3-3.30am, Mrs Morris’s remains were found in the bedroom. The inquest heard that hi-fi equipment had been found in bushes near to the property, as well as a TV and sports bag containing clothing on a nearby footpath. The television had blood on it which was identified to be Mrs Morris’.
The hearing was told that Andrew Morris, Mrs Morris’s son, had directed Mr Westbury and Stuart Queen to his mother’s bungalow, telling them that his mother’s house would be unoccupied. Coroner Katie Sutherland told the inquest that she found that Mr Westbury and Mr Queen had gone to the bungalow with an intent to burgle it and that, once inside the property, Mr Westbury had a confrontation with Mrs Morris, stabbing her with a fork.
However, Mr Westbury gave a different version of events to his wife, Emma Westbury. The inquest heard that he claimed he was on the roof of the property and found Mr Queen “covered in blood” after attacking Mrs Morris. He said that they set fire to the bed to conceal evidence. It was heard that Mr Westbury had disposed of his bloody clothing at the house of a friend.
Ms Sutherland said that she found the remarks made by Mrs Westbury to be accurate and reliable – reflecting to sequence of events. However, in her view she believed that the roles of Mr Westbury and Mr Queen were reversed. She said: “I find that Carl Westbury and Stuart Queen went to the bungalow with the intent to burgle it, having been told it was empty by Andrew Morris.
“Mr Queen went up on the roof whilst Mr Westbury broke in through the back door, smashing the glass. Once inside the property, Mr Westbury had a confrontation with Mrs Morris where he bit her ear, stabbed her in the neck with a fork. Together, they removed property and set the bungalow ablaze.”
Why we cover inquests – and why it’s so important that we do
As painful as these proceedings are for those who have lost a loved one the lessons that can be learned from inquests can go a long way to saving others’ lives.
The press has a legal right to attend inquests and has a responsibility to report on them as part of their duty to uphold the principle of open justice.
It’s a journalist’s duty to make sure the public understands the reasons why someone has died and to make sure their deaths are not kept secret. An inquest report can also clear up any rumours or suspicion surrounding a person’s death.
But, most importantly of all, an inquest report can draw attention to circumstances which may stop further deaths from happening.
Should journalists shy away from attending inquests then an entire arm of the judicial system is not held to account.
Inquests can often prompt a wider discussion on serious issues, the most recent of these being mental health and suicide.
Editors actively ask and encourage reporters to speak to the family and friends of a person who is the subject of an inquest. Their contributions help us create a clearer picture of the person who died and also provides the opportunity to pay tribute to their loved one.
Often families do not wish to speak to the press and of course that decision has to be respected. However, as has been seen by many powerful media campaigns, the input of a person’s family and friends can make all the difference in helping to save others.
Without the attendance of the press at inquests questions will remain unanswered and lives will be lost.
The inquest heard that there was evidence that Stuart Queen was present during the burglary and arson, knew intimate and extensive details of the murder and that, by his own admission, Mr Queen was in possession of a bracelet identified as belonging to Mrs Morris on Friday, March 25, 1994, which he had said Mr Westbury had handed to him. There was evidence that Mr Queen later disposed of it, the inquest heard.
Mr Westbury had a propensity for extreme violence, the inquest heard, and hours before the death of Mrs Morris had struck a man with a pool cue and kneed him in the face, breaking his jaw. The inquest also heard that Mr Westbury had previously bitten other people and strangled his wife until unconsciousness and doused her with turpentine, threatening to set her alight.
“I find that Mr Westbury engaged in gratuitous violence and had a propensity for the same. This propensity evidence mirrors that he bit Mrs Morris which is, an unusual type of violence according to former DI Evans, stabbed her with a fork and used an accelerant to set her bungalow on fire. I find that he would lose self-control and react extremely violently.” Ms Sutherland said.
A medical cause of death was recorded as severe haemorrhage due to a stab wound to the neck. The inquest heard that Mrs Morris had sustained traumatic injuries from having been stabbed with a fork. “The evidence is indicative of murder,” Ms Sutherland said. However, at the beginning of the inquest, she noted: “There has not been an answer as to who may have killed Mrs Morris. The trial was within an adversarial arena governed by strict rules of the admissibility of evidence, whereas this is an inquisitorial court focused on fact-finding.”
Concluding, Ms Sutherland said that evidence from the scene had indicated that a burglary had taken place and that it was pre-meditated and committed by Carl Westbury and Stuart Queen, having been discussed with Andrew Morris beforehand. The fire was likely started in the bedroom where Mrs Morris was found, having been started deliberately.
It was recorded that Mrs Morris had died as a result of an unlawful killing at her home after sustaining traumatic injuries from being stabbed with a fork. “Mrs Fraser has fought tirelessly in her mother’s memory over the course of the last 29 years and has conducted herself with dignity throughout,” Ms Sutherland said.
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