Gordon Cole QC and David Temkin successfully prosecute murder case

March 18, 2020

Gordon Cole QC (leader) and David Temkin from Exchange Chambers have successfully prosecuted a 45-year-old man for murder at Preston Crown Court.

Jurors reached a unanimous guilty verdict when convicting Darren Taylor of murdering 50-year old Steven May.

Darren Taylor had physically and financially abused Steven May in the days and months before his death in May last year.

A pathologist said that Mr May had suffered 76 rib fractures in the last 12 weeks of his life. Some of the rib fractures had occurred immediately prior to death when Mr May also sustained two serious jaw fractures.

The Defendant, who said he had become Mr May’s ‘carer’, had been heard by witnesses on the telephone to the bank posing as Mr May. He transferred money between Mr May’s accounts so that funds could be withdrawn.

Paramedics pronounced Mr May dead at his home on May 20, 2019. The Defendant had called 999 to report that he had found Mr May unresponsive on his bed with blood around his mouth.

The prosecution presented CCTV, digital and telephone evidence, including drone footage, to support their case.

Taylor, who pleaded not guilty to murder, was represented by John Jones QC and John Wyn Williams from Exchange Chambers.

Gordon Cole QC and David Temkin are both members of the criminal department at Exchange Chambers.

This case has received local press coverage.