Pig mask and cable ties found at home of Carlisle man who denies murder

Also found beneath decking in the garden of 20-year-old Jack Crawley's home was a bottle of the “sex” chemical Pentyl, or "poppers", identical to ones that were bought by 56-year-old Paul Taylor, the man he is accused of murdering.

Crawley, 20, admits the manslaughter of the Cumberland Infirmary catering manager, but he denies murdering him.

The defendant, who was a security guard at the same hospital, also denies attempting to murder a man near York, and an alternative charge of intentionally causing him grievous bodily harm. He  struck the man with a hammer, he said, in self-defence after he was threatened.

On day three of the trial at Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor David McLachlan KC continued taking the jury through the evidence, including details of what police found in a search of Crawley’s Sheehan Crescent home.

Both Crawley and Marcus Goodfellow, 20, a fellow security guard at The Cumberland Infirmary, were arrested in November 15 last year. Goodfellow denies “assisting” Crawley by helping him to dispose of Mr Taylor’s car.

The items found in Crawley’s bedroom included the  “pig mask” as well as a skull-face mask, gaffer tape, rope and cable ties.

Police also found a scrap of paper on which was written the name of a YouTube psychiatrist and the word “narcissism.”

Crawley (pictured below) told the police that he carried rubber gloves in his rucksack for his hospital security work, as this involved infection risk while working with injured people in A&E.(Image: Web)

Referring to the bottle of Pentyl  – known also as ‘poppers,’ and identical to the ones bought by Paul Taylor the Private Shop on Carlisle’s London Road - Mr McLachlan said there were DNA traces on the lid.

There were, in fact, DNA traces from three people, but an expert said analysis provided “extremely strong support” for it including Paul Taylor’s DNA.

Found with the Pentyl was an orange handled knife.

The court was then given a summary of what Crawley said during a series of police interviews after his arrest on suspicion of murder.

In a two-hour interview on the morning of November 16, Crawley said he was “shocked” to be arrested. He confirmed his employment with Mitie as a security guard, working 12-hour shifts.

He denied involvement in the death of Paul Taylor.

Asked about his sexuality, Crawley said: “It doesn’t really bother me; people can choose their sexuality. It’s up to them.” He could not discriminate, he said, against anybody when he worked on the doors in security in Carlisle.

He gave “no comment” answers to all other questions.

In a later prepared statement, he said: “I did not murder Paul Taylor. I do not know Paul Taylor but I do know that he worked at The Cumberland Infirmary as there have been missing posters displayed there.”

Earlier in the trial, the prosecution said Crawley used charcoal in an attempt to burn Mr Taylor's body, leaving a burn site next to where the body was buried.

Referring to charcoal – a bag of which he bought on the day Mr Taylor, from Annan, went missing – Crawley said he used it for a stove at his Appleby friend’s home. 

Crawley spoke of having previously lived in Appleby and having friends there but he then moved back to Carlisle in 2021, moving in with his mother, who was away on a holiday at the time of the alleged murder of Mr Taylor.

“I am a night supervisor for Mitie in security at the Cumberland Infirmary," said Crawley.

“One of my responsibilities is to organise subcontracting if Mitie needs to fill staff gaps.” He said that his co-defendant Marcus Goodfellow worked for a security firm which subcontracted to Mitie.

He knew Goodfellow because they had worked together on the doors at local nightclubs and they were in regular contact. Both his workplace security clothes and his casual clothes were black, he said.

In a further interview on February 14, Crawley was asked about the comments he allegedly made about “somebody dying” on October 19 and the person being “worse” than American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (below).(Image: Web)

(Image: Police photo) “Jack Crawley asked for a break in the interview to consult his legal representative,” said Mr McLachlan. The defendant later provided another prepared statement, saying he was previously involved in supplying cannabis and poppers.

“Amongst other platforms, I have used Grindr to communicate with my customers,” he said. He said he previously helped Goodfellow to “dispose of stolen cars.”

The jury also heard an outline of the search and forensic analysis of Mr Taylor’s Vauxhall Corsa car, which police found abandoned in Langwathby after Crawley crashed it outside a garage on October 19, after Mr Taylor died.

Police found two bottles of Pentyl, identical to ones Mr Taylor had bought on three occasions at the Private Shop on Carlisle’s London Road.

Swabs were taken from several areas of the car, and from a microfibre cleaning cloth found in the boot. These provided DNA traces, which were a match for Paul Taylor. Wipe marks on the driver’s door showed it had been cleaned.

In earlier evidence, the jury saw pictures Crawley took of Mr Taylor's car on his phone, before then sending these to people - including car dealers - to ask whether they were interested in buying the Corsa.

One message said: "Got a 2018 Vauxhall Corsa, around 60k miles, no reg, no logbook. You interested?" 

Of the attempted murder allegation, the prosecution say what happened in York was almost a "carbon copy" of what Crawley did to Mr Taylor, whose skull was badly damaged when police recovered his body.

The trial will resume on Monday.

In the meantime, Crawley remains remanded in custody while Goodfellow, of Greystsone Road, Carlisle, has been granted conditional bail.