Man recorded himself murdering neighbour in bitter noise dispute

A former jeweller from north Wales murdered his neighbour in a bitter noise dispute in their sheltered accommodation block while recording the whole thing on a dictaphone. James Hughes, 67, murdered Harold Turner, 68, by repeatedly hitting him with his walking stick and sitting on him after Mr Turner - who had already been vulnerable due to suffering with extensive health issues - had approached him and threatened him minutes before. Hughes, who refused to attend his sentencing hearing and remained in his cell, denied murder and manslaughter but was found guilty of murder by jury last month. A key part of the prosecution evidence in the trial was from a dictaphone device used by Hughes to record the duration of the incident at the Old Palace Flats in St Asaph on Christmas Day morning last year. At Hughes' sentencing hearing at Caernarfon Crown Court on Thursday afternoon the court heard how Mr Turner and Hughes lived beside each other in the block. There had been difficulties between the pair for some time and complaints had been made by Mr Turner about noise being attributed to Hughes, including banging on walls and rails and disturbances at night. Sentencing, Judge Nicklin said: "During the night of Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning, Mr Turner was angry and distressed. At 5.15am on Christmas morning he left a voicemail for the defendant saying: ‘I want you to f*** off, that’s what I want. I’m going to make you f*** off and I am going to get you. You’re mine, you're f***** with the wrong person. Good night, sleep tight.' “There is further evidence of threatening conduct by Mr Turner that morning. Neil Jones recorded footage in which Mr Turner used abusive and threatening language, threatening to knock the defendant out, and said: ‘If you go for it I’ll go for you any time.’ “The defendant called North Wales Police twice that morning; once at 8.47am, when he said Mr Turner had been banging on his door since 11pm and had been shouting and arguing, and at 9.04am when the defendant called again and played the call handler the voicemail message left by Mr Turner.” The judge continued: “At 11.03am Mr Turner left a voicemail on the community house manager’s phone saying he was at the end of his tether and at breaking point and he was going to hurt somebody. Later that morning a physical altercation between the defendant and Mr Turner occurred outside the defendant’s flat. “I proceed on the basis Mr Turner began that physical altercation and that is significant. The defendant did not go looking for violence that day. The confrontation took place outside the defendant’s flat after he had called the police and after threats had been made by Mr Turner. “By way of the jury’s verdict either he did not believe the force he used was necessary or the force he used was not reasonable in the circumstances. The central piece of evidence was the dictaphone recording which captured Mr Turner saying: ‘Get off me, I can’t breathe.’ “The defendant refused to get off him and said: ‘What a f****** shame, do you want me to hurt you again? You can f****** die for all I care, I don’t give a f***.'” After the incident the court heard Hughes went back into his flat, turned on the radio and made himself a hot drink. He then called his nephew some time after the altercation - during which time the dictaphone was still recording him. On the device Hughes could be heard telling his nephew: "I think I may have killed someone." When Hughes eventually called for an ambulance he told emergency call handlers that he thought Mr Turner may have had a heart attack. He said: “I hit him with my stick and he fell and he banged himself against the window.” A post-mortem examination found Mr Turner died as a result of asphyxia and had suffered blunt force trauma to his face and head. In mitigation Gordon Cole KC, for Hughes, said his client was the victim of serious crime in South Africa on multiple occasions and was not in good physical condition. The barrister said Hughes called the police two times on the morning of Christmas Day to seek assistance. Mr Cole said his client, who had no previous convictions, would "serve the remaining years of his life in prison" due to his health. Judge Nicklin sentenced Hughes to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 13 years. A total of 185 days spent on remand in custody will be deducted from his sentence. He said the incident had not been a case of a planned murder but that Hughes had ignored pleas from Mr Turner to get off him. The judge said Hughes' response had instead been "angry, callous and cruel". Following the hearing detective chief inspector Eleri Thomas, of North Wales Police, said: “This was a senseless murder which was borne out of a dispute between two retired neighbours. “Through his persistent, antagonistic actions, James Hughes drove Mr Turner to a confrontation at the door of his flat, and despite Mr Turner’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe, Hughes continued to sit on his chest and proceeded to strike his head with his walking stick. “His recording of the attack and subsequent conversations afterwards were damning as to his guilt, and whilst Mr Turner’s family may never be able fully comprehend why this tragic incident happened, I hope we have provided them with some form of justice and closure today.”