A jury heard closing speeches in the trial of three prisoners accused of murdering a child killer at a high security jail. Convicted murderers Mark ‘The Iceman’ Fellows, 45, David Taylor, 64, and Lee Newell, 57, all deny murdering 33-year-old Kyle Bevan in HMP Wakefield, who was found dead in his own cell having been stabbed 25 times.
Leeds Crown Court heard Bevan had been convicted and sentenced for the murder of his stepchild in 2023, and was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 28 years. He was a ‘vulnerable [at risk] prisoner’ in the jail, where there had been ‘tensions’ between that category of prisoner and the other, ‘main’ prisoners.
Prosecutors allege the three defendants worked as a ‘team’ and moved to Bevan's cell in the jail, where he was said to have been stabbed with an improvised weapon or weapons. Jason Pitter KC, prosecuting, claimed the alleged murder of Bevan may have been committed following a ‘desire to be transferred’. Mr Pitter said that when he was being transferred out of the prison, Taylor was allegedly heard by a nurse to shout, in the vicinity of Newell, 'nice working with you and the Iceman'.
The three defendants did not give evidence at trial. Their barristers gave speeches on their behalf, with one arguing there was an ‘evidential black hole’ in the case. Beginning his closing speech, prosecutor Mr Pitter said: 'Nice working with you’. David Taylor could not have been more proud of the work, the business they had done together. Those words uttered by him in the small segregation area that the three of them were housed in after the killing of Kyle Bevan, but before they were shipped off together and away from Wakefield.
Mr Pitter said Bevan had been 'executed' or 'taken out' with 'some skill and care'. He said: 'If you are sure they have together murdered Kyle Bevan, regardless of what he was like, then you must find him guilty.' Mr Pitter said that Fellows has previously committed two murders and 'took out people he was opposed to, or didn't like'. He said Taylor had previously committed a 'serious offence' in which he told of his 'dislike of paedophiles'. He told the jury Newell had a previous conviction for strangling and killing a man who had murdered a child. 'Again, familiar,' he said.
Mr Pitter alleged that the injuries suffered by Bevan showed there was more than one weapon used. He claimed: 'Each of the three defendants took part in that attack, or supported the attack by being there and lending their encouragement and support.' Mr Pitter claimed there was a 'co-ordinated plan' between the defendants, as they 'moved as a unit' to level four of the prison, where Bevan's cell was. He alleged there was a 'celebratory air' between the defendants, playing a CCTV clip which he claimed showed the 'easy manner in which they moved around together'.
Joe Stone KC, defending Newell, told the jury that there was an 'evidential black hole' in the case, given there is no CCTV evidence in Bevan's cell. 'The reality is you don't know 100 per cent what went on in that cell during the currency of that five minutes,' he said. He said there is 'not a scintilla of evidence' to say that Newell was armed. 'This is a murder where somebody has been stabbed 25 times, a weapon is pretty important,' Mr Stone said. 'He can't be seen on CCTV with any weapon at any time. Simply being there does not make you guilty of murder.' He said it was Newell's 'right' not to give evidence during the trial. He claimed that blood evidence in the case did not support the case that Newell was an 'active participant in the killing of Kyle Bevan'. 'Quite the reverse,' the KC said.
Mr Stone said that Newell was in 'pretty poor shape' and had been left brain damaged and with a loss of sight in his right eye after being attacked in prison previously. 'He is hardly SAS material, is he?' he told the jury.
Defending Fellows, Nick Johnson KC, said: 'The Iceman, the Wakefield Dexter, I wonder if I could start with some introductory remarks about that. Is Mark Fellows the Wakefield Dexter Morgan, the TV character with a normal day job but is also a serving killer who only targets deserving criminals?' Mr Johnson referenced Fellows' previous convictions for murdering two 'North West gangland kingpins'. He said Fellows is now alleged to be party to the murder of Kyle Bevan, because he 'felt he deserved it and felt he didn't want to share a wing with him'.
Mr Johnson said: 'Here I am, the Wakefield Dexter's advocate.' He said he made 'no apology' for defending Fellows and appealed to the jury to consider the evidence in the case just as if they were deciding the fate of a defendant of 'impeccable character.' Mr Johnson said: 'Everyone deserves a fair consideration of the evidence, and detailed consideration of the evidence.' He suggested Fellows was 'not alone in disliking' sex offenders, paedophiles and child killers, and argued it was a 'relatively weak point' for the prosecution in arguing a motive. He said that Fellows regarded the way the prison was run as a 'joke'.
The KC told the jury that Fellows did not have a weapon when he went into Bevan's cell, and that 'violence erupted that he played no part in, even if he was quite happy to cover it up afterwards'. Mr Johnson questioned whether the defendants would openly 'plot' something in view of cameras. He said: 'Everyone knows there's no cameras in a cell, make your plans in a cell.' Mr Johnson suggested CCTV footage was 'inconsistent' with the prosecution case of a 'surprise attack'. He said Bevan looked around on the landing before entering his cell and saw Newell, and added that Bevan did not 'attempt to run off'. 'When he decides to go into his cell, he knows at least Mr Newell is there,' Mr Johnson said, suggesting Bevan was 'consenting' to let them enter his cell. 'It's quite possible Mr Fellows was there for a different reason,' Mr Johnson told jurors.
The KC said that the expert evidence in the case said that Bevan's blood on the 'sole and heel' of Fellows' shoe did not assist in determining whether Fellows stabbed Bevan. He claimed there was 'another explanation' for the blood evidence, that Fellows was 'present' but not a participant in the attack or assisting another. Mr Johnson said the comment said to have been made by Taylor of 'nice working with you' did not take the prosecution case further. 'It could be a reference to all sorts of things,' he said. He added: 'We simply don't know what happened in that cell. If there was an unlawful killing, who caused the injuries, who encouraged or assisted, or who was merely present.'
In his speech defending Taylor, Jeremy Dein KC claimed that there is a 'real risk' of 'demonisation' in his case. He told the jury: 'There is a true risk that whatever he has said or has been seen to do is cast in a negative light, because he was in prison at the time, because he has committed very, very serious offences in the past, or because of what has been said about him.' He asked the jury to guard against the 'instinct to do that'. Mr Dein said: 'It is our submission that in relation to the events which occurred behind that open door of Kyle Bevan's cell, that there is not one iota of evidence that David Taylor personally stabbed Kyle Bevan.' He also said there was no evidence 'to the same degree' that he assisted or encouraged anyone else.
Mr Dein claimed that prosecutors have put a 'negative gloss' on a comment made by Taylor when he was transferred out of the jail, when he said 'not guilty all the way'. 'It's Mr Taylor's case that he is not guilty all the way,' Mr Dein said. The KC referenced a question asked by jurors as to whether the defendants had given any explanation for being in Bevan's cell. Mr Dein said: 'The important point in that respect is that the absence of that explanation does not displace the requirement the prosecution have to prove their case.' He said that Taylor's decision not to give evidence provides 'no support to this silent movie scenario', with no CCTV in Bevan's cell. 'We do not know what happened in those four minutes-plus behind that door,' he said.
Mr Dein asked jurors to 'disregard' Taylor's previous convictions. 'The reality, members of the jury, is that the fact that he has committed these offences does not evidence what took place behind Mr Bevan's door,' he said. 'The fact is there is no evidence of why Mr Taylor went into Kyle Bevan's cell, the prosecution have not adduced any such evidence.' Mr Dein added: 'Did Mr Taylor stab Kyle Bevan? Quite simply members of the jury, there is no evidence in this case that Mr Taylor stabs Kyle Bevan. It's as simple as that.'
Mr Dein addressed a CCTV clip which showed Taylor producing something from his waistband. 'A vape is a prime candidate,' he told jurors. Mr Dein claimed the prosecution used comments made by Taylor in a segregation unit to 'bolster their case'. He referenced comments including 'not guilty all the way', 'nice working with you and the Iceman' and a 'reference to the Wakefield Dexter'. Mr Dein said: 'Does any of that help to establish that David Taylor stabbed Mr Bevan? No it doesn't.' He described them as 'bravado'.
Fellows (15/9/80) of no fixed address; Taylor (26/4/62) of no fixed address; and Newell (5/10/68) of no fixed address, all deny murder. The trial continues.
