GUILTY UK - Darren Bonner, 24, Cresswell, Northumberland 10 July 2017

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Amonet said:
Also the beating marks on DB's back that the pathologist said looked like they'd been caused by a heavy bar...There's been no explanation for those marks, but I would guess they are definitely part of the story.
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I think so too. My imagination takes me to him subjecting Darren to some beating/torture for whatever he was angry about and getting him to dig his own grave so that he wouldn't have to do the work, part of his sick pleasure.
 
In that first offending at age 21 it seems he carried on inflicting stab injuries. I think he has really serious issues and I don't know why that part was excused. It seems to have enabled his behaviour and given him permission to keep using this line of self-defence, no matter how extensive the wounding.
 
My sister used to have a caravan at Cresswell Towers for about 5 years. My nephew literally lived there during the summer. My parents would be with him during the week and my sister on a weekend.

Kasmeer is spot on about the bag of guns being a McGuffin. A perfect description.

So DB has great organisational skills but was living out of an old van? And why did he get the bus to Ashington and not just drive the van?

I really hope the jury get this right.

Thanks for the thread, Tortoise.
 
And of course it's just coincidence that the car was playing up so he had to get the van, (but then the car was fine again afterwards) and that the van just so happened to contain the guns (McGuffins!) Darren had to hide.

He hasn't given any reason for going with Darren to bury the McGuffins other than he was awake. If he was so concerned about them being hidden at his garage (I do detest talking about a criminal's lies ie. non-existent intruders as if they existed) he wouldn't have gone with him and risked being an accomplice.

It's all BS. He is a bad liar. With his obvious acting skills including real tears I hope the jury isn't fooled.
 
I found this reporting from the first trial, it adds a bit more to the picture (I'm sure I read in this trial that it had led to the rival stealing his plants?):

Burn admitted she had lied to police in early interviews, and said Spottiswood and Bonner had a ‘horrible row’ in the early hours of the morning when he was found, saying she had never seen Spottiswood ‘look so evil’.

"Spottiswood believed Darren Bonner had betrayed him to a rival drug dealer which had led to Spottiswood losing a large cannabis farm which was seized by the police.”

Murder victim found 'naked and groaning in a shallow grave'
 
Also this report from the first trial:

Timothy Roberts QC said: "Richard Spottiswood, according to Lucy Burn, believed Mr Bonner had betrayed him to a rival drug dealer and that this had led to Mr Spottiswood losing a large cannabis farm to police seizures in Hebburn.

"And that Darren Bonner was going to help his arch rival to take over Spottiswood's drug and car businesses and to find and steal his stash of money and drugs," the Newcastle Chronicle reported.

Dying man was dumped naked in shallow grave after being strangled by his boss, court hears

It seems to me that he wouldn't have developed this belief about Darren on the Sunday night, so he already harboured it before the weekend started.
 
An argument between the two men inside a caravan in the early hours of the morning...

Burn has admitted assisting an offender by evading the police and telling them lies. She had originally concealed the fact that Spottiswood and Mr Bonner had argued, saying that Spottiswood told her to lie to police.

Following Burn's admission, Spottiswood also changed his story, saying he had argued with Mr Bonner as they went to the hole to bury stolen guns.

Darren Bonner fatally beaten and dumped in shallow grave, court hears
 
I've been wondering why Darren took the bus that Friday night and then obviously missed his connecting bus to the caravan park and messaged his mum to contact RS for him...if he was scared and knew there was a problem between him and RS. It suddenly dawned on me that he was probably invited by RS for the weekend away and thought that there was no longer a problem. He was probably hoodwinked.
 
Tortoise said:
Timothy Roberts QC said: "Richard Spottiswood, according to Lucy Burn, believed Mr Bonner had betrayed him to a rival drug dealer and that this had led to Mr Spottiswood losing a large cannabis farm to police seizures in Hebburn.
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Wonder if it relates to this little crop -

Members of the public in South Tyneside have helped police uncover a cannabis farm.

The farm was uncovered at a unit in Monkton Business Park in Hebburn after reports of a pungent smell.

Police found around 200 plants worth almost £200,000 just after 6pm on 13 April [2017].

Public help police find £200k cannabis farm
 
Tortoise said:
Wonder if it relates to this little crop -

Members of the public in South Tyneside have helped police uncover a cannabis farm.

The farm was uncovered at a unit in Monkton Business Park in Hebburn after reports of a pungent smell.

Police found around 200 plants worth almost £200,000 just after 6pm on 13 April [2017].

Public help police find £200k cannabis farm
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That could well be it. Here's another one from June 2017.

An intelligence-lead investigation by Northumbria Police has resulted in the discovery of a cannabis farm in North Shields, with a street value thought to be in the region of £330,000-550,000.
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Massive cannabis farm discovered in North Shields
 
Goodness me I never knew it was worth that much money. Makes this even more unbelievable - that it would have been the end of it :

"During today’s proceedings at Newcastle Crown Court, the 34-year-old was in the witness box and said that he had up to a dozen cannabis farms at one point.

“I asked him if he had been spying on me because I knew someone had been but I couldn’t put my finger on it,” Spottiswood said.

“I thought it was someone else. He said no, but I knew he was lying.” “I said I wanted him out of the garage, pack his stuff and that was the end of it.

Accused denies intent to harm at Northumberland shallow grave murder trial

And this part is just crazy, he may as well have said 'and then I would have made sure he would not' tell police about the headlock :

"He said he told police when interviewed that he knew nothing about the hole or why Mr Bonner ended up there was because he expected Mr Bonner would recover and then not tell police about the headlock
 
He reminds me of Ben Butler, father of murdered Ellie Butler. Mindless uncontrolled violence. A string of assaults to his name from early adulthood. But if this was premeditated and I think it was it is even more chilling.
 
Legally Bland said:
This looks like RS's business. The age is right. I couldn't imagine having the misfortune of buying a second hand car from him.

SOUTH SHIELDS AUTOCENTRE LTD - Officers (free information from Companies House)

Here's a streetview look from March 2017. Is that the riot van back left of the yard?

View attachment 137275

Google Maps
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I suppose it could be, but it does have rather a lot of windows, I was expecting a more concealed back. He could have had him covered up with the sheet though.
 
The front left in the picture looks like a police riot van. It might have been purchased from another owner and subsequently painted white?

You can see in this picture that the front is the same shape

ETA the link for the riot van pic. I found it on a Google image search for a UK police riot van (https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ae21f12a0a223c5ae67385e6f89e6d4d-c)

main-qimg-ae21f12a0a223c5ae67385e6f89e6d4d-c
ssac-jpg.137275
 
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