Banbury double murder trial: Defendant does not know who stabbed men

Raymond Morgan denied stabbing Adrian Fannon and Mark Pawley multiple times while taking the stand as his defence case began at Oxford Crown Court.

“I think it’s atrocious, whoever did it deserves punishing,” he said in the witness box, wearing a black jacket with a shirt and tie and black trainers.

Morgan is charged with two counts of murder after Mr Fannon and Mr Pawley’s bodies were found in his Newland Road flat on October 1, 2017.

The 53-year-old defendant said he woke up to loud banging and went into the living room where Mr Fannon was lying against the television stand and Mr Pawley ‘throttling’ a young girl.

Morgan said he managed to get Mr Pawley off her, who then lunged at him before going back for the girl.

So the accused said he grabbed a broken table leg and hit Mr Pawley over the head a couple of times, knocking him out.

Morgan said he got a glass of water for the girl but then had an epileptic fit and passed out.

He said he woke up hours later, the girl was gone and he went straight to the police station.

When asked what happened by Adrian Redgrave QC, prosecuting, Morgan said: “When you have a seizure usually I am out for six, seven, eight, nine, ten hours so really I can’t tell ya.”

Mr Redgrave said: “Are you making this up as you go along?” “No,” Morgan replied.

At the end of his cross examination, Mr Redgrave urged Morgan to confess, describing his version of events as ‘nonsense’.

He said: “You get up that morning, these two men were in the living room asleep and you picked up two knives, you’re the killer aren’t you.”

Morgan responded: “Sorry I’m not the killer.”

Mr Redgrave said Morgan’s family would be able to say ‘he had the guts to face up to it’ if he admitted killing the men.

“Mr Morgan, you know that there are certainly three families who are desperately affected by this: Fannon’s family, Pawley’s family and your family,” he said.

“This is probably the first and last opportunity in public for you to tell us why.”

Morgan repled, turning to the gallery behind him: “I can’t, sorry. I look at all of you, I didn’t kill Fannon, I swear. It’s bulls***.”

The prosecuting lawyer asked why Morgan did not call an ambulance when he saw Mr Fannon, who he described as a good friend and ‘bloody and pale’.

He replied: “If I wasn’t to have a seizure I would have rang an ambulance and tried to save their lives, but if I have a seizure what was I supposed to do?”

Mr Redgrave added Morgan was seen leaving his flat before 10.30am, with the two victims thought to be killed at around 10am.

Tracy Ayling QC, defending, ended her defence with a statement from a police officer who interviewed Morgan’s nephew.

The nephew told the officers that Morgan was often asking him for money and once showed him a knife he kept by the sofa, ‘for people who come in that shouldn’t’.

The trial continues.