A convicted rapist was murdered by his sister's partner who attacked him with a plank of wood which left him with internal bleeding and caused his death. As the victim lay mortally injured outside his flat the killer kept in contact with neighbours for information about his condition.
Andrew Southwood, 39, killed Carl Ball, 51, in an attack outside his home in Newport on August 19, 2022. The victim had been subjected to various assaults in the run-up to his death. Ball was convicted in 2001 of raping a woman and sexually abusing a child for which he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
A trial at Newport Crown Court heard Mr Ball's flat in Heron Way, Duffryn, had been targeted with windows smashed and, on one occasion, was set alight. On the day of his death Mr Ball had received a suspended prison sentence for possession of a blade and had appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court. He was later assaulted by a man called Otis Jeffries in an attack which was filmed but played no part in Mr Ball’s death.
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Having called the police Mr Ball was spoken to by two PCSOs before being driven back to his home. He was then seen walking in the direction of a neighbour's house and was seen speaking to a man in a white car. But 10 minutes later the PCSOs who had dropped off Mr Ball were called back to the scene and discovered he was lying injured outside his flat.
The victim was “gaunt, pale, and complaining that he could not breathe”. By this stage he was “slowly dying” from internal bleeding coming from muscle tissue and the spleen, which had been torn in multiple places. As he lay dying Mr Ball told officers “Southwood” was responsible for the attack. He added: “They attacked me. They hit me with a stick. With a plank of wood… Southwood did it” and also said: “Plank of wood, massive plank of wood”. He also told his sister Michelle, who arrived at the scene, that the person responsible was “Andrew Southwood”.
A helicopter ambulance attended the scene but Mr Ball’s condition deteriorated with blood loss causing his heart to stop beating. He went into cardiac arrest. CPR was given but despite the best efforts of the emergency services Mr Ball was pronounced dead at 8.29pm.
During this period Southwood of Chaffinch Way, was in contact with Mr Ball’s neighbours Billy Williams and Barry Williams, who lived above the victim. Barry Williams sent the defendant aerial photographs of Mr Ball as he lay mortally wounded in his front yard.
Southwood later called Gwent Police after his partner Katie Ball received abusive messages from family about the victim. He told police his “name had been mentioned” in relation to an assault on Mr Ball but did not know why. The defendant was arrested at 4am on August 20.
Forensic evidence was also compiled including Mr Ball’s clothing, Southwood’s trainers, and a plank of wood found near Chaffinch Way. Splinters taken from Mr Ball’s hoody, orange T-shirt, and Southwood’s trainers were found to have originated from the plank of wood. The plank also contained a small blood stain but no DNA material could be traced but a further swabs contained DNA material linked to Mr Ball, Southwood, and two unknown individuals.
Giving evidence Southwood admitted he was present when Mr Ball was attacked but claimed it was two men wearing Covid masks who had assaulted the victim. But following a two-week trial the defendant was found guilty of Mr Ball's murder at around 3.30pm on Wednesday after the jury retired to consider their verdict on Tuesday. The defendant remained silent as the verdict was given to the court.
Mr Justice Griffiths thanked the jury for their service and said only one sentence was available to Southwood and that was one of life imprisonment. He adjourned sentencing until July 20 when a minimum term will be set.
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