THE “cruel torture” endured by Paul Taylor's family of not knowing where he was after his disappearance last year was ended by the man accused of murdering him, a jury heard.

Defence KC Toby Hedworth made the point as he began his closing speech at Carlisle Crown Court after the jury of six men and six women had finished hearing the evidence.

Jack Crawley, 20, admits the manslaughter of the 56-year-old former soldier on October 18 last year but he denies murder.

He says Mr Taylor, a catering manager at Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary, was fatally injured when he fell during a struggle as he stole his car.

Crawley, who claims he was being controlled by a London based crime gang, said he never intended to kill Mr Taylor, but only to steal his car.

The defendant also denies attempting to murder a man near York on January 5. He claims he struck the man with a hammer in self-defence.

“Paul Taylor’s death was obviously a terrible thing,” began the Mr Hedworth. “And the way in which his body was thereafter dealt with was worse still.

“Inevitably, you will have views about anybody who causes the death of another; and extremely strong views, we anticipate, about somebody who then seeks to hide what he has done and also puts; the family and friends of the deceased the cruel torture of not knowing where he is, or what became of him

“Fortunately, it was Jack Crawley himself whose decision was to end that heartache by telling the police where Mr Taylor’s remains were to be found.”

Mr Hedworth said he would not "sugar coat" the many bad things Crawley had done.

The barrister then challenged the prosecution claim that the defendant showed he had murder on his mind by listening to the song Romantic Homicide on the day Mr Taylor died.

He outlined how the famous Tom Jones song Delilah became a massive hit in both the UK and in the US, sung at Welsh rugby international games and by fans at Stoke City Football Club.

The song depicts a lover who spotted his partner with another man and then stabbed her to death. There was no suggestion, he said, that the people who listened to that song over the years were inspired to commit murder.

Of Romantic Homicide, which Crawley listened three times on the day Mr Taylor died, Mr Hedworth said: “It’s not about the use of violence; it’s about killing a former relationship in your mind."

Mr Taylor, from Annan, had made himself a target for the theft of his car, which the defendant says was the reason he met him on October 17 last year.

A family man and a father, he would meet other men for sexual encounters and it would have been “extremely unlikely” that he would have gone to the police if his car was stolen during such an encounter, he said.

Mr Hedworth also referenced Crawley’s evidence that Mr Taylor wore a face mask during their last encounter. The items found in his car after Crawley crashed it at Langwathby included a mask, he said.

The barrister challenged the interpretation of forensic evidence.

This showed that Mr Taylor’s skull and face suffered ten fractures, the bones left heavily fragmented. Crawley explained this by saying he tried to break up Mr Taylor’s dead body with a mallet to make it "disappear."

The prosecution says he inflicted those "fatal" head injuries while Mr Taylor was alive.

The Home Office pathologist who gave evidence said it was “more likely” that Mr Taylor’s head injuries were inflicted when he was alive but, said Mr Hedworth, jury were not allowed to find guilt on the such a basis.

“That is not being beyond reasonable doubt, which you have to be,” said Hedworth, referring to the pathologist's conclusion.

He suggested bone fragments would have been left in Mr Taylor's car if he had been killed as the prosecution say he was. Of the York incident, Mr Hedworth said the alleged victim would have dialled 999 straight away if Crawley was dangerous as suggested .

The barrister continued: “What of Jack Crawley, ladies and gentlemen? (pictured)(Image: Web)

“You don’t have to like him; you don’t have to approve of aspects of his lifestyle…if he is as evil as the prosecution say, some sort of psychopath, hunting down gay men, beating [one] to death with a hammer, then why was it, after he was charged with  the murder of Paul Taylor on February 14 this year, that he... told the police where he had hidden Paul Taylor’s body?”

This was the act of a “decent man”, who had wanted to do right by Paul Taylor’s family, said the barrister. 

Mr Hedworth said the evidence before the court was not sufficient for the jury to be sure of Crawley’s guilt on the murder and attempted murder charges "If this is correct," concluded Mr Hedworth, "your verdicts should be not guilty.”

Crawley, of Sheehan Crescent, Carlisle, who also denies intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm on the man in York, remains remanded in custody.

His co-defendant Marcus Goodfellow, of Greystone Road, Carlisle, denies helping Crawley to dispose of Mr Taylor's car. His barrister will deliver his closing speech today.