Wrexham murder accused behaved like 'gangster' court told

During the third day of the trial Mark Harley Jones, of Chester Road, listened with a bowed head as the jury was taken through a description of videos and information which emerged on his Snapchat in the summer of 2021.

The 20-year-old admits causing the death of Kyle Walley, aged 19, but denies murder. 

Mr Walley died on July 11, 2021, after being stabbed at his flat in Rhosymedre as the pair drank together ahead of the European Championship football final.

First to give evidence on Monday was Harry Meadows, who told the court he'd been a good friend of the defendant's.

Asked by John Philpotts KC, prosecuting, about Jones' character, he said he was "bouncy" but that he'd exhibited an interest in knives on more than one occasion.

Mr Meadows said that during a Facebook video call, the defendant had once told him: "I'm going to stab you, Harry lad," and he'd brought blades on video calls before because he appeared to think it was "funny."

Turning to the events of the incident, Mr Meadows told the court he was on social media at around 5.50pm when he looked at the defendant's private Snapchat stories in which he saw the defendant and 19-year-old Kyle Patrick Walley at the victim's flat.

He saw Jones 'downing' the contents of a bottle before slamming it onto a table, then drinking whiskey and coke with the caption "mangled" - which he took to mean the defendant was very drunk.

Mr Meadows said the defendant then began to act "stupid" with knives, pretending to stab the victim and saying he may "chef someone up" - meaning to cut someone.

There followed a clip in which Mr Walley could be seen bleeding from his chest, saying "put the knife down," to which the defendant could be heard responding: "It's my ADHD."

Mr Meadows said he saw a further clip of the defendant kicking or stamping on the victim's head, then a clip of Jones' hand bleeding.

Andrew Ford KC, defending, asked Mr Meadows if there had been occasions when he'd seen the defendant on Snapchat handling knives when he was cooking in his kitchen.

He said there had.

David Davies was next to give evidence, telling the court he was in his garden in view of Kyle Walley's flat on the day of the incident.

He said he'd heard arguing from the flat and had recognised one of the voices as the victim's.

At some point he heard the word "please" being repeated by a second male, whom he didn't recognise.

Later in the day, a scooter rider pulled into the car park of the victim's flat, following which a male appeared with a bicycle from behind the flats.

The man with the bicycle approached the scooter rider and before leaving the scene he told him: "I've stabbed him, I've stabbed him - what do I do now?"

Mr Davies also told the court there had been "disturbances" at Mr Walley's flat before.

Asked by Mr Ford KC whether the victim had a "temper," he answered: "Yes, when he was on the drugs and drink he did tend to open his mouth and threaten people."

He added that on one occasion, Mr Walley had threatened to 'knock him out,' but that he'd apologised to him the next day.

Michael Farmer, a friend of Mr Walley's, gave evidence next - telling the court he'd been at work on the day of the incident.

He'd spoken to Mr Walley via Snapchat in the afternoon about the fact he was "getting p****d as f*** with Mark."

At around 5pm, he spoke to his and Mr Walley's mutual friend Morgan Bull, who told him Mr Walley had been stabbed and directed him to the videos on Snapchat.

Mr Farmer called an ambulance, then reviewed the Snapchat footage and called the police.

Next to give evidence, Morgan Bull told the court he'd seen the footage preceding and following the incident on Snapchat, including Jones' blood-stained hands.

He also told the court the defendant had adopted a south London accent as he was "trying to show off."

Mr Ford KC asked him: "You told the jury you saw a video of Mark saying 'man's gonna get life' - as if he was trying to look like the big man, trying to sound like a gangster?"

Mr Bull answered: "One hundred per cent, yes."

He also told the court he was aware of an issue between the defendant and the victim over £20, with Jones accusing Mr Walley of taking the cash from him - leading to a row.

Speaking of his friend, he said: "He could be an issue at times, but he was a decent lad with a good head on him towards the end of his life."

Asked by Mr Ford KC what he'd meant about the victim being "an issue at times," he explained Mr Walley had had a "temper."

He added: "The littlest of things could set him off.

"When he wasn't angry, he was the nicest person you could meet - but he was very argumentative if something didn't go his way."

The trial continues