A man has been convicted of murder after holding his victim captive in his flat for two weeks before emptying his bank account. Ashley Crowder, 36, was found guilty by a jury at Bolton Crown Court for the killing of Graham Cox, 37, and will be sentenced on July 29.
Details of the Crime
The court heard that Mr. Cox was discovered on March 4, 2024, lying on a sofa with a blanket over him. Paramedics noted he was 'cold to the touch' with signs of rigor mortis. He had suffered a fatal beating, and his bank account had been completely drained. Mr. Cox had reported enduring 14 days without food.
When police arrived at Crowder's flat on Barton Walk, Farnworth, Crowder claimed Mr. Cox had fallen days earlier and sustained a 'bleed on the brain'. He said he was 'just about to phone the ambulance'. Crowder denied physically and financially abusing Mr. Cox in the weeks before his death, the exact date of which remains unknown.
Victim's Vulnerability
The court was told Mr. Cox had been in a 'pitiful state' of health for months leading up to his death. His own home on St James Street, Farnworth, had become uninhabitable. He was described as 'vulnerable' due to drug addiction and medical conditions. The prosecution alleged Mr. Cox was forced to hand over his benefits to Crowder, who 'beat and strangled him to death'.
Mr. Cox's death was attributed to blunt force physical assaults. He had visited a support centre, claiming Crowder held him captive for 14 days and attacked him. He escaped through a window and went to the UCAN centre in Farnworth.
Testimony from Witnesses
Melanie Livesey, a Bolton councillor at the UCAN centre, testified that Mr. Cox was 'visibly shaking from head to toe'. He said, 'I've been kidnapped. I've not had nothing to eat or drink for 14 days.' Staff gave him six mince pies, which he ate immediately. Centre worker Jed Leck described Mr. Cox's clothes as 'really dirty' and noted he had cuts and bruises.
Mr. Cox told Leck that Crowder initially seemed kind, running him a bath and feeding him. But when Mr. Cox ran out of money, Crowder became violent. Mr. Cox escaped through a living room window while Crowder slept. Leck said, 'It seemed very dramatic, but I believed what I was told.'
Sentencing
Crowder, of Barton Walk, Farnworth, was convicted of murder, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and four counts of theft. He is due to be sentenced on July 29.
