Jury shown film of accused

DROVE TO RETAIL PARK COFFEE SHOP AFTER NEARBY FATAL INCIDENT

- CARL EVE

THE jury in the trial of a city businessman accused of murdering 42-year-old David Kelly by running him over in a city lane saw footage of him with his head clasped in his hands at a Costa Coffee shop he had gone to, after the fatal collision.

The second day of the trial of 37-year-old Luke Dann, of Beechwood Rise, Manor Park, Plymouth, heard from a number of witnesses. Dann denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Lorraine Smart, who lived at Riverside Caravan Park, on Leigham Manor Drive, told the witness box at Plymouth Crown Court that she recalled how, on March 21 this year, her cleaner, Laura Smith, had called David Kelly to her home because the two women had held a previous conversation about trying cocaine.

In answer to questions from prosecutor Adam Vaitilingam KC, Ms Smart explained she suffered from COPD, arthritis and diabetes and as a result took on Ms Smith as a cleaner. She confirmed that she regularly smoked cannabis to help her condition.

Following a conversation with Ms Smith about cocaine, she agreed to purchase some, although she left the details to her cleaner because she did not know who to go to. Ms Smart admitted that “20 years ago I used to do crack cocaine” and confirmed that Ms Smith had said she had done crack cocaine a “couple of nights previous”.