A wife whose husband was battered to death in an attack which left blood spattered up their living room walls has been convicted of his murder.Mark Hopes, left, was found dead at his home in Brithweunydd Road, Trealaw
Maria Hopes, 46, tried to blame her son Leon Port for the killing of 45-year-old Mark Hopes but both have now been convicted of murder
Maria Louise Hopes, 46, was convicted of murder following a retrial having tried to lay the blame for the killing on her son Leon Port, 24.
Mother and son each tried to blame one another for the brutal and sustained attack on 45-year-old Mark Hopes at the home he shared with his wife at Brithweunydd Road, Trealaw.
She tried to convince the jury she had been persuaded by her son to cover up for him after he beat Mr Hopes to a pulp – and said she would have kept on lying until she got caught out.
Port, of Mount Pleasant Cottages, Mountain Ash , was found guilty of murder by a jury at the first trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court but they could not reach a verdict on Hopes.
Following a retrial at the same court a jury of five men and seven women took eight hours and 24 minutes to find Hopes unanimously guilty of murder.
Both admitted perverting the course of justice along with Port’s girlfriend Rebecca Donovan, 24.
'They helped themselves'
Family had attended every day of the trials and there were shouts and cries from the public gallery when the verdict was delivered.
Mr Hopes, who married his wife in March 2011, was beaten to death in the living room of his home so violently that blood spattered up the wall almost the ceiling and bits of a vase matching bloodstained pieces at the property were found embedded in his head wound and in his ear.
The bloodied Sky remote control was also found in pieces.
Christopher Quinlan QC, prosecuting, said Mr Hopes spent the last 20 or so hours of his life with his stepson and wife on October 2 last year but at 7.49am the following morning he was pronounced dead.
“He suffered significant external and internal injuries to his head, face, and body from which he died,” said Mr Quinlan.
“In short he was beaten to death in an assault which must have lasted an appreciable time and involved the use of a weapon.
“They helped themselves and each other and not the dying Mr Hopes. They lied in an attempt to hide from the police the the truth of what happened.”
Pool of blood
Mr Quinlan told the jury it had started with an argument on the afternoon of October 2 between Mr Hopes and Port, which ended with Port throwing punches.
Port said that was the end of his involvement but it was then he alleged his mother pulled her husband from the sofa before hitting him with a weapon and standing on his head.
“He said it must have been his mum who caused the fatal injuries,” said Mr Quinlan.
Blood was also found on the sofa, walls, floor, ornaments and clothing recovered from throughout the house.
READ MORE
Family of murdered Mark Hopes open up on 'harrowing experience' of the trial
A pool of blood was found on an outside drain cover, on a kitchen mop, discarded wet wipes, kitchen units, a duvet cover, a watch from the mantelpiece, and the sofa while a bloodstained sofa cushion was found in the bath.
Hopes claimed her clothing was blood-spattered and her slippers were saturated with blood because she had helped clean her husband up but the jury rejected her claim.
It was not until the following morning that Port called 999 and tried to deflect any blame from himself, telling the operator his stepfather had been out drinking the night before and had come back injured.
“We’ve found him but he’s not breathing,” he told the operator.
While giving him instructions for CPR a calm Hopes could be heard telling the operator: “He’s not breathing. He’s stone cold. He’s stiff. He’s not moving at all.”
All three will be sentenced on a date to be confirmed.
No comments:
Post a Comment