Jury retires in trial of Hartlepool man accused of murder of drinking friend

Norman Ryan died after an incident in Troutpool Close in August last year.

Kieran Potts, 24, is accused of inflicting fatal head injuries on 55-year-old Norman Ryan in his flat in Troutpool Close, after drinking together on August 31 last year.

The trial at Teesside Crown has lasted more than a week and the judge summed up the case to the jury on Wednesday.

Judge Paul Watson has urged the jury to put emotion aside during their deliberations.

The trial has heard how Mr Ryan, who was a heavy drinker and described by the prosecution as vulnerable, died in Middlesbrough’s James Cook Hospital on September 9, as a result of brain injuries he suffered in the alleged incident.

Potts told the jury that Mr Ryan attacked him by punching him after telling him to leave following a bust up between Potts and his father, Carl Potts.

Potts said he punched Mr Ryan back, saying: “I just thought he was going to keep punching me. I punched him back in self defence.”

He told the jury Mr Ryan fell back and hit his head on the kitchen door frame before falling to the floor, landing upright against the hall wall.

John Elvidge, defending, asked: “Did you intend to kill him?”

Potts replied: “No, there was no intention to kill him." He added he did not mean to seriously harm Mr Ryan.

The court heard Mr Ryan was found a short time later lying semi-conscious with blood on his face by Carl Potts.

The jury also heard from medical and forensic experts including that blood and compacted skin matching Mr Ryan’s DNA was found on one of Kieran Potts’ shoes.

He was not able to account for that although the jury heard there were no marks on Mr Ryan’s face corresponding to Potts’ trainers.

The prosecution says the evidence heard paints a “compelling picture” against Potts, including alleged comments made by him including that he “knocked Norman out” and said he believed he killed him, which he denies he said.

The defence questions the credibility of witnesses, including Carl Potts, who died in March this year, and the accuracy of others.

Potts, of Moffat Road, Hartlepool, denies murder and the case continues.