GUILTY UK - Lee Pomeroy, 51, stabbed to death on train, Surrey, 4 January 2019

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There was some live tweeting from last week that I just found so I'll copy it over. I don't know where it was hiding when I searched for updates at the time. If I have posted this previously and forgotten about it just ignore me

26th June:

Day 2 of Darren Pencille murder trial underway - he's accused of killing father Lee Pomeroy on a train from Guildford to London in January

Back at the Old Bailey for day 2 of Darren Pencille’s murder trial. Lee Pomeroy was stabbed on a train from Guildford to London in January. Court is being shown cctv of the journey and the fast moving argument that took place.

Members of Lee Pomeroy’s family have left the court room in the Old Bailey as footage of him being stabbed on the train is played.

CCTV shows Lee Pomeroy sustained 18 stab wounds within 25 seconds. Marc Farmer from the British Transport Police describes it as a “quick and frenzied attack”.

Jacob Hallam QC: CCTV footage shows Mr Pomeroys' “hands go out towards defendant after blow to his neck."

DC Marc Farmer says it “looks like he (Pencille) is folding the knife away” after attack. CCTV shows Pencille waiting by the door after the "frenzied attack" for the train to stop at Clandon station.

Multiple train cameras show the attack from different angles. Lee Pomeroy’s bloodied face is visible as he is repeatedly stabbed. Darren Pencille is then shown collecting his belongings from the carriage floor which was covered in blood & leaving the train at Clandon station.

CCTV shows three people who had been in the same carriage as Pomeroy and Pencille running down the train away from the attack.

Lee Pomeroy's family visibly emotional in court as CCTV shows the father being stabbed "18 times" in "a matter of seconds"

Focus now on the events after the attack. Records show Chelsea Mitchell bought her boyfriend Darren Pencille plasters, anti bacterial wipes, razors and a hair clipper.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

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Defence now cross examining BTP’s Marc Farmer over the cctv. Defence highlight no audio so we don’t know what was said between 2 & that Darren Pencille leaves the carriage after the initial verbal interaction but is continually followed by Lee Pomeroy. Court breaks for lunch.

Chelsea Mitchell’s defence lawyer argues cctv does not show that Darren Pencille called his client at the time he is alleged to have said he was going to kill. He also notes the clippers and razors she bought were never used.


First civilian witness from the train is now giving evidence. He says he heard shouting in a separate carriage before both men entered his carriage. He heard Darren Pencille shout “leave me alone” and “you’re racist” to Lee Pomeroy. Pencille said he “wasn’t scared” of him.

Witness says he saw the pair “fighting each other...they were both grabbing each other.” Family of Lee Pomeroy are visibly emotional in court as Darren Pencille’s defence lawyer discusses the accusation of alleged racism. Witness says he did not hear Pencille threaten to kill.

(my note - I'm confused as to whether this is a continuation of the same witness or not - she is questioned on what he heard

Megan Fieberg: “I saw them holding each other by the collars...They wanted a fight.” She said she then left the carriage, “I felt quite scared for my life”.

Defence barrister now cross examining Megan Fieberg. He asks where her accent is from-she says South Africa. He asks why she’s not mentioned that Pencille had told Pomeroy to “leave me alone”? She admits she heard him say that twice, along with “don’t touch me”.

Ms Fieberg: “The white man was pretty angry”. She says she didn’t hear either man mention killing each other. Defence barrister: “I’m going to suggest the black man was retreating and the white man was going after him, is that a fair of reflection?” Megan Fieberg responds “yes”.

Megan’s husband Christopher Fieberg is now giving evidence. He says Pencille entered the carriage first, followed by Pomeroy. “The black gentleman was telling the white gentleman to leave me alone”. He says Pencille also said he was “hearing voices”.

Defence barrister “Is it true the black man said ‘you’ve been following me the whole time, leave me alone?” Fieberg responds yes. Barrister asks why he’s not yet mentioned - Fieberg says poor memory. He heard Pencille accuse Pomeroy of being racist.

Mr Fieberg says he didn’t hear either man say they were going to kill. He says he was listening more to the black man “out of fear”.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

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A video of Lee Pomeroy’s 14 year old son giving account of what happened is now being played in court. Describes the initial argument says Pencille said “ignorance is bliss”. His his dad responded “you what?”. The guy repeated, “ignorance is bliss”. His dad responded “shut up”.

Pencille replied “I hate men like you”. Pomeroy responded “I hate men like you”. He says Pencille said “Suck your mum” and his dad replied “I did yours last night”. Pencille then told him to get off at the next station, “My dad took that as a threat”.

Lee Pomeroy’s son said his dad got up “with a clenched fist”. “My dad is very menacing because he is tall. The guy was taller than me, shorter than my dad”. He continues “Normally when someone says something to my dad he won’t let it go”.

Lee Pomeroy then followed Darren Pencille in to next train carriage. His son didn’t see the start of the fight. When he next saw his father he had blood on his face “I asked my dad what happened and he lent back and said “he punched me””.



Day two of the trial ends - back tomorrow at 10am.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

[Alyce]

This is a 12 second audio -

Police release harrowing audio of row before fatal train stabbing

 

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27th June:



Back at the Old Bailey for day 3 of Darren Pencille’s murder trial. Lee Pomeroy was stabbed 18 times on a train from Guildford to London in January. First witness today Kayleigh Carter who was on the train. She says it initially seemed like Pomeroy and Pencille had “a tiff”.

Miss Carter says one of the men said something along the lines of - “all I did was be in your way”. She says “I remember thinking it was really petty.” She describes Mr Pomeroy as coming across as “Stern, stubborn, patronising...There was no point when I thought he’d back down.”

Miss Carter heard Mr Pomeroy say “I’ve never dealt with someone with special needs before”. Mr Pencille responded “I’m hearing voices right now”. He raised his phone & shouted “I’m going to kill this man”.

Mr Pomeroy responded “you got through pretty quickly”. He didn’t believe a call had actually been made nor did Miss Carter due to the speed. Mr Pencille then shouted “you’re racist”. Mr Pomeroy responded “if anyone is racist here, it’s you”.

Miss Carter says Mr Pencille hit Mr Pomeroy first. “I saw blood straight away and I panicked after that”. She got up at this point to leave the carriage and got blood on her bag as she passed the pair.

Defence Barrister Justin Rouse QC says Miss Carter had initially thought the “argument seemed trivial”. Rouse: “Was it apparent to you that the older guy wasn’t going to leave the black guy alone?” KC responds “yes”.

Defence barrister Justin Rouse QC stresses that Miss Carter made no mention in her first statement that Mr Pencille has threatened to kill. He suggests this was an important thing to mention.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

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Witness statements read in court from people who saw Mr Pencille after he left Clandon station. One said: “I thought he looked suspicious. He looked agitated. He had something red on his hands and also on his face.”

Witness Rowena Dodwell saw Pencille go in to a private field in Clandon. He was sweating so she asked if he was ok. He appeared to be on the phone to someone but responded “I’ve just been in an accident, I need to get back to work”. Mrs Dodwell found a bloodied hat in the field.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

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(I do feel like I've read this before but I can't see it in the thread so I'll continue to copy it over anyway)

Darren Pencille’s ex partner and mother of his child - Sarah Fry is now giving evidence via video link. They spoke several hours after the attack. He said “I’ve done something bad today” and she’d see it on the news later. He later text to say “I’m sorry and I love you both”.

Darren Pencille’s mother Ingrid Robertson has taken the stand. She looks emotional as she sees her son in the dock. She said her son called her on the day of the attack and said “something happened...I’ve done something wrong”. He later called in tears to tell her he loved her.

Darren Pencille’s mother says in his 20s she was told her son “was a paranoid schizophrenic” and was admitted in to hospital as an in patient several times. He had a fear of crowds and crowded environments. He had phobias about public transport and frequently had panic attacks.

Darren Pencille blows his mum a kiss as she leaves the court room.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

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A forensic pathologist who examined the body of Lee Pomeroy is now giving evidence in court. He describes Mr Pomeroy as of “a very heavy build” - 6ft 3 and 15.5 stone.

Lee Pomeroy suffered stab wounds, slash wounds and classic defensive injuries. Forensic pathologist says “You’d have to have immediate surgery in theatre to stand a chance of surviving”.

Family of Lee Pomeroy are in tears as his injuries are listed in court.

Forensic pathologist says there was no evidence of damage to bones so would describe the attacker as having used “moderate force”.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

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3rd July:

Back at the Old Bailey where Darren Pencille is on trial for the murder of Lee Pomeroy on a Surrey train in January. The jury are being presented with agreed facts about Pencille’s past criminal record.

Pencille pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause gbh in 2010 and pleading guilty to an offence of common assault in a separate incident.

Between 2004-2018 Pencille was an in and outpatient in hospital. He was prescribed medication for depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders. A toxicologist who examined Pencille’s urine said there was no trace of these medicines after the killing.

A condition of Chelsea Mitchell’s bail is that she is not allowed to contact boyfriend Darren Pencille. Court told she sent him a Father’s Day card at Belmarsh prison. It referenced their stillborn son. It started “Hello Darren, I miss you so much” & wanting to be by his side.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

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Chelsea Mitchell is now giving evidence at the Old Bailey. She is in tears as she describes being beaten up while pregnant by a previous partner who is now in prison. She met Darren Pencille in Sep 2017 from a dating site.

Chelsea Mitchell and Darren Pencille were living together. She describes his anxiety, panic attacks and paranoid schizophrenia with frequent “melt downs” which were “hard work”. She says he was never violent to her and treated her “really well”.

Chelsea Mitchell says Pencille was unable to go to shops and supermarkets as there were too many people. An hour train journey could sometimes take four hours as he’d have to leave busy trains. He’d often call her to calm himself down.

Pencille’s plan on 4 January was to go to London to see his family, have a driving lesson and buy some meat to cook a curried goat for Chelsea Mitchell.

In 2018 Mitchell became pregnant with Pencille’s child. In May 2018 she had a stillborn delivery of a premature baby boy. She was diagnosed with depression-says Pencille was a huge emotional support. When he was arrested police found an ultrasound of a 20 week scan in his wallet

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

[CoverMeCagney]

The more I hear the more I can't understand why Pencille isn't blaming all this on some kind of psychotic break.

EDIT just saw above Between 2004-2018 Pencille was an in and outpatient in hospital. He was prescribed medication for depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders. A toxicologist who examined Pencille’s urine said there was no trace of these medicines after the killing.

So he wasn't taking his meds.

 

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Mitchell said Pencille called her from the train to say “I’m getting off at the next stop...had enough.” She claims he said he was being followed up the train by a man. She said he also claimed he was “hearing voices”.

When Mitchell picked up Pencille she claims he said he’d been in a fight but had no knowledge of the stabbing. Took him home where he showered. She saw cuts on his body & asked if he wanted to go to hospital. He declined so she got him antiseptic wipes to clean wounds & plasters.

Chelsea Mitchell then bought Darren Pencille some cannabis and food from Burger King. He then suggested they go to Frensham Pond to let off lanterns for their stillborn child. Mitchell drove as Pencille doesn’t have a driving licence.

Chelsea Mitchell’s phone makes internet searches about the incident on the train during their journey to the ponds. Mitchell says Pencille was using it as she was driving. He then phoned his solicitor.

The couple then went to Pencille’s Bognor Regis flat to pick up post. Mitchell stopped at a Tesco on way to buy food, a duvet & hair clippers. Pencille stayed in the car. Cctv shows her 3 yr old child scans the items at the till. Mitchell said she felt no urgency or need to rush.

Chelsea Mitchell is asked if the flat was a hiding place? She replies no. They return to her home later that night and it’s there at around 10pm that she sees posts on Facebook referencing the stabbing at the station.

Chelsea Mitchell says: “My body shut down and froze” as she linked the events. She said she didn’t ask Pencille about it as she knew police would be there soon. CM: “I didn’t know anything that happened on the train”.

Court finishes for the day. Trial continues tomorrow where Chelsea Mitchell will be cross examined.

LIVE: Train killing trial - Victim's family leaves court as CCTV shown of stabbing

 

[Tortoise]

The more I hear the more I can't understand why Pencille isn't blaming all this on some kind of psychotic break.

He would have to admit manslaughter and serve a sentence of some sort. Claiming self-defence (if successful) would get him acquitted.

 

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Central Criminal Court 5 T20197047
T20190037
Chelsea Phyliss Mitchell
Darren Pencille
Details: Trial (Part Heard) - Resume - 10:21

 

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Sarah Hajibagheri‏ @SaraHajibagheri 4m4 minutes ago
Darren Pencille murder trial continues. Girlfriend Chelsea Mitchell says he would wear sunglasses even in January to avoid making eye contact with people. She never knew him to carry a knife. He asked her to film his injuries after the “fight” so he could send to his solicitor.

 

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I wonder what caused his injuries. He might have got them while scrambling over a wall to get away or something.

 

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Sarah Hajibagheri‏ @SaraHajibagheri 22s22 seconds ago
Chelsea Mitchell says she still loves Darren Pencille. Jacob Hallam QC: “You want the best possible outcome for Mr Pencille in this trial”. He says that despite the risk of going to prison for breaking her bail conditions she still contacted Pencille when he was in Belmarsh.

 

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Sarah Hajibagheri‏ @SaraHajibagheri 2m2 minutes ago
Mitchell says she was emotional as it was their child’s first birthday and so contacted Pencille when he was in prison. Jacob Hallam QC: “Have you said things to the jury that are not true to help his case and to help your case?” Mitchell replies - no.

 

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Sarah Hajibagheri‏ @SaraHajibagheri 2m2 minutes ago
Mitchell says Pencille would feel drowsy from his medication and so didn’t always take it. Hallam says Pencille’s use of cannabis could increase his paranoia. Hallam asks her if she knew about Pencille’s love of knives-she says no.

Sarah Hajibagheri‏ @SaraHajibagheri 2m2 minutes ago
Jury now looking at images of knives that were on Pencille’s phone. Hallam questions how Mitchell could still love Pencille after what he has done. Chelsea Mitchell: “I’ve got a child with him, I can’t turn my feelings off over night”.

 

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Sarah Hajibagheri‏ @SaraHajibagheri 1m1 minute ago
Chelsea Mitchell: “I’m not lying to the jury”. She says when Pencille called her: “He told me he wanted to get off the train”. Jacob Hallam QC asks again if he had threatened to kill on the call - she says no.