Dog owner admits punching disabled neighbour in row over barking pet but ‘didn’t mean to kill him’
A DOG owner admitted punching his disabled neighbour in a row over a barking pet – but he ‘didn’t mean to kill him’, a court heard.
Raymond Burrell, 43, left disabled Matthew Sheehan, 36, in a “vegetative state” after complaining about the noise from his dog at night.
Mr Sheehan, who walked with a stick, was annoyed at Burrell’s Staffordshire bull terrier barking from across the street in Adamsdown, Cardiff.
The neighbours had a series of rows before it erupted into violence when Burrell stormed over to Mr Sheehan’s house.
Mr Sheehan never recovered from the brutal doorstep attack and died in hospital two years later.
Burrell pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder.
Mr Sheehan, who was living independently in community housing, had cerebellar ataxia, which affected the part of his brain controlling eye movements, speech, and limb movements.
His family said he needed a crutch to walk and had to concentrate on his balance to stay on his feet. He also required glasses to see clearly.
Burrell told the court how the pair’s first row flared six months earlier over one of his five dogs barking in their street.
He said: “I could see him shaking the gate and screaming at the dog. I shouted at him: ‘What are you doing?’ He was going on about my dog.
“He was standing there, looking really angry.”
Burrell later confronted Mr Sheehan after a series of complaints about the barking dogs.
He said: “I wanted to tell him to stop coming to the house. I banged on the door to get his attention.”
Burrell said Mr Sheehan “started shouting” and that “he wasn’t happy about me banging on his door”.
“He shouted he’d been up all night. Then he grabbed hold of me, grabbed the front of my jacket. I grabbed him. He punched me in the face.”
David Elias QC, defending, asked: “What did you do?” Burrell replied: “I punched him straight back.”
‘BRUTAL’ ATTACK
He told the court there was no violence inside Mr Sheehan’s property, but they carried on “punching each other” outside.
The defendant added: “I fell over. He fell over as well. I heard a smack. I believe that was him hitting the kerb.”
He told the court he punched Mr Sheehan in the head, but said he could not remember how many times he hit him.
Prosecutor Michael Jones QC said Burrell had “deliberately, brutally and repeatedly attacked him causing him catastrophic and life-changing injuries that ultimately led to his death”.
The jury at Cardiff Crown Court found Burrell guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm in 2016 and he was jailed for life.
But Mr Sheehan died a year after the court case – and Burrell was charged with his murder.
Newport Crown Court heard a friend went to see Mr Sheehan the day before – and he seemed “frightened” following a dispute with a neighbour.
Mr Sheehan told his friend a neighbour’s dog was barking and keeping him awake – so he told the dog to “shut up” but the neighbour confronted him.
Two other neighbours who lived upstairs described hearing someone kicking a door at around 7am on September 1, 2015, and a man shouting and swearing.
They also said they heard Mr Sheehan’s voice screaming “help” and “groaning” noises like someone was in pain.
One of the neighbours called 999 and described the defendant walking off and then coming back to the flat.
They said there was more swearing and kicking – but this time there were no groans or cries for help. Everything was silent.
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Mr Sheehan died on November 9 last year at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.
Burrell, of HM Lowdham Grange Prison in Nottinghamshire, admits manslaughter but denies murder.
The trial continues.