Erdington-Koch lay dead for days after murder, court heard

A care home cook and former city councillor lay dead for nearly a week after being stabbed in the neck in his Birmingham flat, a jury heard.

Sakander Hussain, 25, of Knights Close, Erdington, denies the murder of 65-year-old Wallis Webb, who prosecutors say was killed in the early hours of January 31.

Edward Brown KC told jurors at Birmingham Crown Court that Mr Webb “was stabbed; his attacker used a knife and the stab wounds killed him”.

“The most serious knife wounds were sustained to Mr Webb's neck,” he added.

Brown claimed that Mr Webb, who lived alone, was killed between 02:55 and 03:58 GMT and continued: “In this case we will look closely at the evidence which covers that short period of time, the early hours of January 31st and what happened just before that and what happened in the minutes, hours and days that followed.”

The court heard that Mr Webb was found dead in a bedroom at Cranleigh House, Baldmoor Lake Road, on February 6.

The discovery came after his brother, who lives in Spain, called West Midlands Police because his Skype calls were going unanswered.

The court was told that Mr Webb was gay and frequently visited Birmingham's Gay Village.

He used chat sites on the Internet to meet like-minded men and had a steady boyfriend for over ten years with whom he spent time, even though they were not in a steady relationship and did not live together.

Ten minutes after his long-term friend left the apartment on January 31, Mr Webb was seen leaving the apartment five minutes later and driving away in his car, the jury heard.

Video footage taken a few minutes later showed his car in the Frederick Road area.

The jury heard that a figure, who the prosecution said was Mr Hussain, was taken away by the car after it flashed its headlights.

It arrived back at Mr Webb's address at 02:55 GMT.

Data from a smart TV in the apartment showed it was last used at 03:07 GMT, while Mr Webb's phone was last “activated” at 03:37 GMT, the court was told.

Mr Brown said: 'Fourteen minutes later, now at 03:51, a purchase of £128 is made using Mr Webb's bank card.

“The purchase with his card must have come from inside. [the flat].

“At 03:58 a figure can be seen leaving Cranleigh House with what appears to be a backpack and a bag.

“The prosecution believes that this person is the accused Sakander Hussain.”

During the trial, Brown told the jury, it would become clear why the prosecution had chosen the period from 02:55 to 03:58 GMT as the time of the attack and murder of Webb in his apartment.

The process continues.