Two men from Somerset are accused of murdering a man in an attack outside of a Travelodge hotel. Joseph Dix, aged 26 and from Frome, and Macauley Ruddock, aged 27 and from Bath, allegedly killed Andrew Main, 33, in Swansea last year.
The group met in a bar in the city centre on July 16 before a fight broke out back at the hotel during the early hours of July 17. Mr Main was rushed to hospital but sadly died in hospital almost a month later.
As reported by Wales Online, prosecution barrister David Elias KC opened the murder trial yesterday (Tuesday, January 7). He described Dix and Ruddock as aggressors on the night in question, explaining that they “took exception” to Mr Main and his friend Michael Bell talking to a female guest at the hotel.
A fight then followed which saw Mr Bell flee the scene. However, Mr Main was allegedly knocked out by a punch from behind by Dix, before both Dix and Ruddock repeatedly punched the stricken man to the head and face as he lay on the ground. He was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.
Here is a timeline of how the night unfolded, as heard at Swansea Crown Court.
Defendants and alleged victim meet at Coyote Ugly bar
The jurors heard how Mr Main, his friend Michael Bell, both from Scotland, Dix and Ruddock, were all staying and working in the Swansea area at the time of the alleged fatal attack. Mr Main and the defendants were staying at the Travelodge while Mr Bell was staying elsewhere.
On the night of July 16, Mr Main and Mr Bell were drinking in the Potters Wheel pub on The Kingsway. Meanwhile, both Somerset defendants met two women – Hannah Tedstone and Katrina Matthews – in the Bank Statement on Wind Street.
By around 11.30pm, all four men and the two women were in the Coyote Ugly bar. Mr Main then met Dix and Ruddock for the first time.
Fight outside Travelodge hotel
The court heard how Dix, Ruddock, Miss Tedstone and Miss Matthews left Coyote Ugly at 12.23am. They went to buy Stella Artois and Budweiser beer before returning to the Travelodge where they were staying shortly after 1am.
They went to Miss Tedstone’s and Miss Matthews’ room before the former went to reception. She was seen a short time later carrying a mug while Mr Main and Mr Bell are sat at a table in the bar talking to someone out of camera shot.
At 2am, Dix enters the hotel reception from the direction of the lifts and walks into the bar. CCTV footage then shows Mr Main, Mr Bell and Dix talking.
On several occasions Mr Bell puts his arm around Dix’s shoulders. At one stage a member of the hotel approaches the three men and says something. Dix, Mr Bell and Mr Main shake hands several times. Miss Tedstone can be seen walking into and out of camera several times.
However, the court heard how Dix told Mr Main and Mr Bell to leave the woman alone although they “were being nothing but polite and friendly”. He said the prosecution said Dix was being “provocative” and an argument developed between the three men which forced hotel staff to intervene.
Ruddock then came down to the bar and the argument moved out onto the street. Mr Main then reportedly fled before it became a “two against one” fight with Dix and Ruddock attacking Mr Main.
The court hears the fight ended and the three men – Dix, Ruddock and Mr Main – went to the locked hotel door. Mr Main then threw a punch at Dix, and Dix and Ruddock began throwing punches at him.
Mr Main then ran down the stairs outside the hotel but was chased. At this point he said Dix delivered a punch to the back of Mr Main’s head. He told the jurors they will see from CCTV that Mr Main’s legs gave way immediately and he fell to the floor out of shot of the camera.
The prosecutor said what happened next was not caught on CCTV but was seen by witnesses including hotel staff, a guest at the hotel, and a resident living in a flat on Princess Way. He said the hotel guest filmed some of the assault on his mobile phone and would later tell police how he saw a series of powerful punches being delivered to Mr Main as he lay unconscious on the floor and how he heard “thumping noises” as the punches connected. Mr Elias says the defendants could also be heard “laughing and celebrating their joint attack” on Mr Main.
The court was shown footage from a council CCTV camera on York Street near the Travelodge hotel at 2.17am. Mr Main is motionless and face down on the pavement. Dix and Ruddock are seen smoking cigarettes and Dix is then seen “re-enacting” throwing a punch.
A subsequent clip taken a few seconds later showed Dix prodding Mr Main and putting him in the recovery position. Mr Bell can then be seen returning to the scene – Dix and Ruddock begin pointing at him and he goes straight into the hotel.
Foul-mouth rant in police van
The jury was shown body-worn footage of police officers talking to Dix and Ruddock at the scene. In Ruddock’s clip he can be heard saying: “Have a word with staff. You got cameras here so you’ll see what you need to see… Right, so they split us up.
“He was, we’ve met them at a pub before. We’re shaking hands and we’re just walking. I don’t know what happened, he [something inaudible] because his mate was being a d***. I don’t know what happened. You’ve got a camera in there. I weren’t too sure what happened. But he’s just turned. He was shaking hands with us then he just turned.”
In Dix’s footage – which shows him sitting in the cage in the back of a police van – he can be heard saying “He would just not stop trying to f****** hit me. Look at the cameras. I promise you I was not trying to f****** start it… if some man was trying to swing at you, you would not just f****** take it”. He goes on to say “Please mate get me some water, I’m going to be sick. I’m not a f****** bad person. I work my f****** arse off and I’m sat in a f****** prison f****** van. F****** d***head, f****** p****”.
Mr Main died of brain injuries
The prosecutor said Mr Main suffered a significant brain injury. A scan also showed multiple fractures of the facial bones.
He was rushed to hospital in Cardiff before being transferred to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh to be close to his family. However, subsequent tests showed no improvement in Mr Main’s brain functioning and he died as a result of his brain injuries on August 14.
Dix told police he acted in self-defence
Dix reportedly answered “no comment “ to all questions asked in his first interview. After being shown CCTV footage during his second interview, he gave officers a prepared statement saying there had been a verbal altercation and when it threatened to turn physical he intervened to try to stop it.
In his statement he said Mr Main punched him to the head and everything he did after that point was in self-defence and that he at no time intended to cause Mr Main any harm. The court also heard how Ruddock answered “no comment” to all questions asked in his interview.
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