Liverpool's LGBT+ community have spoken out following the trial of Dr Gary Jenkins's murder.
The 54-year-old was left for dead and covered in blood after being subjected to a brutal attack in a Cardiff park by Jason Edwards, who is from Liverpool, Lee Strickland and Dionne Timms-Williams.
Despite pleading for his life, Dr Jenkins was beaten for 15 minutes and later died at the University Hospital of Wales on Thursday, August 5, 2021.
READ MORE: Killer found with murder victim's bank card after beating doctor to death
According to our sister site Wales Online, which covered the trial live, during the murder, which was caught on CCTV from the Summerhouse Cafe, Dr Jenkins can be heard shouting: “Argh… I haven’t got any money… Argh… Please help me…. What are you doing?”
He also shouts: “Stop it, stop it (Repeated)... Argh that was…. Argh get off me, leave me alone.”
During the assault, Edwards could be heard telling the others to stamp on his head and shouting homophobic abuse.
Timms-Williams could also be heard demanding money and saying: “F****** c***, I don’t give a f***.”
Lewis Collins, chair of LCR Pride Foundation’s board of directors, said the incident was 'truly abhorrent' before extending the foundation's condolences to the family and friends of Dr Jenkins.
He told the ECHO : “No-one should ever feel unsafe or be targeted because of their sexuality, let alone lose their life.
"Attacks like this one are always shocking, but sadly they are not unusual. They serve to highlight how important it is for organisations like LCR Pride Foundation to continue to fight against hate crime in all of its forms, to make our cities safer for everyone.”
The trial heard Dr Jenkins had gone to Bute Park in order to have sexual encounters with other men but he was targeted by the group because of his sexuality and subjected to an unmerciful and sustained attack.
The Crown Prosecution Service has since apologised for statements made in court about this aspect of the case.
In his opening remarks to the jury, barrister Dafydd Enoch QC had said that Dr Jenkins "sexual predilections were to be his undoing" and he had "rendered himself hopelessly vulnerable".
Speaking after the jury returned a guilty verdict, a spokesperson for the CPS said: "The only people responsible for this horrific crime were those convicted today by the jury. The suggestion that Dr Jenkins was in any way to blame is completely wrong.
"We apologise for inappropriate and insensitive remarks made during the opening statement."
Edwards, and Strickland, from Cardiff, were taken down to the cells after a judge saw them laughing and joking after a jury found them guilty. The jury only took four hours to reach a guilty verdict on all three defendants.
In a statement released after the verdict was reached, Dr Jenkin's family paid tribute to him and thanked two witnesses who intervened to try to save his life.
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