Barmouth: David Redfern guilty of bed mix-up murder

A man has been found guilty of murdering a 71-year-old who mistook his home for a B&B and got into his bed.

Margaret Barnes, from Birmingham, died following the attack last July while she was visiting Barmouth, in Gwynedd.

David Redfern, 46, found Mrs Barnes asleep in his bedroom and dragged her downstairs by her feet before kicking and stamping on her.

Redfern denied murder but was found guilty after a trial at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Mrs Barnes had been out drinking with friends she was visiting in Barmouth and had been planning to stay at a B&B on Marine Parade, where Redfern lived.

She mistakenly went into Redfern's house and gone straight to a bedroom where she fell asleep.

Prosecutor Michael Jones described that decision as a "mistake that ultimately cost her her life".

After returning home and finding Mrs Barnes in his bed, Redfern, who had self-confessed anger issues, removed Mrs Barnes from the bed and pulled her downstairs by her ankles.

Redfern, a 6ft 1in (1.85m) man who weighed 21 stone (133kg), then kicked and stamped on Mrs Barnes, breaking a number of her ribs.

She died at the scene.

A post-mortem examination found she had a traumatic liver injury and extensive internal bleeding.

In police bodycam footage shown during the trial, Redfern said: "I threw her out the bedroom, dragged her down the stairs by her ankles and threw her out the door.

"You do not expect to find someone else in your bed. I just wanted to get this strange woman out of the house."

In CCTV footage also shown to the jury Redfern is heard after the attack telling his partner: "I didn't mean to kill her".

His partner replied: "You could have just escorted her out. It's an old lady."

Redfern will be sentenced on Friday.