A man who murdered his partner's brother - a convicted rapist and paedophile - by beating him with a plank of wood, has been jailed for life.
Andrew Southwood will serve a minimum of 20 years in prison, for the attack on Carl Ball which saw Southwood leave his victim for dead minutes after he was dropped off at his flat by a PCSO.
Mr Ball was able to tell police who were called to the scene: “They attacked me. They hit me with a stick. With a plank of wood… Southwood did it.”
Mr Ball, 51, had been subjected to multiple assaults prior to his death, after being convicted in 2001 of raping a woman and sexually abusing a child for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A trial at Newport Crown Court heard Southwood's flat on Duffryn estate in Newport, Wales had had its windows smashed and on one occasion was set alight.
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Andrew Southwood has been convicted of murder (WALES NEWS SERVICE)Mr Ball had received a suspended prison sentence for possession of a blade during an appearance at the city's magistrates court the same day as his death - August 19 last year.
He was also assaulted by Otis Jeffries in an attack which was filmed but played no part in Mr Ball’s death, the court heard. 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 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”, the court heard.
By this stage he was “slowly dying” from internal bleeding coming from muscle tissue and the spleen, which had been torn in multiple places. 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.” He also said: “Plank of wood, massive plank of wood.”
He then 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.
CPR was given but despite the best efforts of the emergency services Mr Ball was pronounced dead at 8.29pm. During this period, Southwood was in contact with Mr Ball’s neighbours Billy 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 nearby.
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.
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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. Following a two-week trial, the defendant was found guilty of Mr Ball's murder.
In a victim personal statement read to the court, Mr Ball's sister Michelle Lewis said she had recently got back in touch with her brother following the death of another brother, Gareth Ball, and described the victim trying his hardest to get his lift back on track.
She said: "It's no secret Carl had his issues in the past but I felt he was dealing with his issues and had paid for the crimes he had committed. That day in August 2020 will live with me for the rest of my life. I am grateful I got to see Carl and speak to him before he passed away. I am haunted by that day and have been ever since.
"My last memory of my brother Carl was of him in pain and agony. He was assaulted in broad day light outside his home address whilst people in the street watched and did not help. It breaks my heart to think Carl suffered in the way he did. I don't think anyone deserves to be treated in this way. I constantly think of the pain and suffering Carl must have gone through as a result of this incident which ultimately took his life. Our family feel we have been robbed of a future with Carl in it.."
In mitigation, Jonathan Rees KC said Southwood had five children, and described him as a "devoted father". He said the defendant was subjected to physical abuse in the school and at the hands of his father which led him to abusing alcohol and crack cocaine. The barrister said Southwood and overcome these addictions, but was reliant on anti depressants due to the death of a friend, who was killed in a car crash which he witnessed.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Griffiths said: "Carl Ball, the victim of this murder, was entitled to the life and dignity of a human being. He had shared his home with a homeless person and on the day he died he gave his last pound to someone else he took pity on in the street. To his sister Michelle in particular, he was a dear brother. I express my deepest sympathy to her and other members of the family. I recognise no sentence I pass can bring him back to life or end their bereavement."
He told Southwood: "Carl Ball had a difficult life. He had also committed crimes for which he served his time in prison. However, when you killed him on August 19, 2022, he was 51-years-old and his last conviction for serious sexual offences was over 20 years before that in 2001.
"He had the misfortune to meet you. Near his own home, in the open air, in broad daylight, while bystanders watched his humiliation, you savagely beat him. It was an unprovoked act of cruelty and brutality. You had no excuse for what you did. Carl Ball was no threat to you. He offered no resistance to you. He had done you no harm.
"You picked on him because you are a bully and he was easy prey. The ferocity of your attack was terrible. You may not have intended to kill him but you did not hold back as he cowered and begged you to stop and it was not at all surprising that death resulted."
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