'Did I do anything to deserve this?' Murder defendant made recording telling victim he 'betrayed' him
A jury has heard the voice of Martin Glynn, recorded by the man accused of killing him during the alleged attack.
Northampton Crown Court heard how Samuel Field sent his family abusive voice notes accusing them of being a part of a conspiracy against him.
The jury was also played a voice note that it is alleged is a ‘tortured confession’, made during a 28-hour attack on Martin Glynn.
In the recording, he is heard confusedly answering questions from Mr Field while he grills him on why he gave his house key to an ‘Irishman.’
Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, April 21) deputy senior investigating officer Detective Sergeant Megan Scotney took the jury through a folder of transcripts of voicemails and images captured on CCTV in the days leading up to an alleged attack by Field on his friend Mr Glynn, 93, at his flat in Gold Street, Desborough.
On Field’s phone were numerous voice notes, texts, WhatsApps and Facebook messages.
‘I run Desborough and these are my friends’
The jury saw a transcript of a voice note on Field’s phone where he outlined his suspicions about the shopkeeper who ran the One Stop Shop in front of his flat. He believed the man was lying about where he lived, calling him ‘shady and evasive’.
In the note, he then described an alleged altercation between himself and an Irish Traveller inside the shop. He said that the Irishman had told him ‘I run Desborough and these are my friends’.
He also believed that phone calls from Sky and Barclays had been part of a conspiracy against him.
In the days leading up to, and on the day of, the attack, he also messaged several ex-girlfriends on Facebook messenger. They tried to reason with him.
The crown says that all of these messages showed Field was in a cannabis-induced paranoid state before he allegedly killed Martin Glynn.
‘Sam, listen to me’
Field often messaged his mum over many days, sending her abusive voice notes and blocking her, then unblocking her, repeatedly.
In one of the notes sent at the beginning of September, played to the jury, a clearly-angry Field said to his mum: “Go f*** yourself about being talked to in a nice way,” before he went on to make serious accusations about the way she treated him as a child.
"Mummy thinks she can talk to me how she f***ing wants, she thinks she can get information.” He then called her a ‘dirty, little f***ing wrongun’.
The prosecution says there is no truth in the accusations he made, or any evidence that his mum or brother were involved in a conspiracy.
Messages Field sent to his brother, Will, were also abusive, with his mum repeatedly begging him not to contact his sibling.
"Sam listen to me,” she said in one message, before saying: “Never contact Will.”
He went on to message his brother, with his mum trying to divert his attention to something else.
"Start a business,” she said. “Be amazing.”
He told her he was going to take legal advice about the ‘abuse’ he suffered as a child.
"You’re fighting with yourself,” his mum told him.
"Bye c***,” he replied.
Final movements of victim seen by jury
On September 17, there were messages on his phone allegedly sent to a drug dealer. The pair arranged for Field to buy some drugs outside nearby West End DIY.
Field then sent him a message saying: “This is mad stuff bro.”
The jury was also shown two videos of Field in the One Stop Shop next to his house. He was wearing a black hooded jacket, black gloves and glasses. There was no sound on the video but Field was clearly remonstrating with the shop owner.
The court also saw moving CCTV footage of Martin Glynn after he got off a bus from his Northampton home to Desborough at 11.07am on the day of the alleged attack. Pushing his walker, he slowly made his way along the High Street, towards Rothwell Road in the direction of Gold Street.
Wearing a brown jacket, he was then caught on external CCTV moving down the alleyway to Field’s flat before going into the building.
DS Scotney said there were 213 Blink camera clips found on Field’s mobile phone. The camera had been placed on top of a light outside the Field’s door in a communal entrance-way and caught Mr Glynn arriving at his flat on the morning of September 19.
It briefly captured him talking to Field in his audible Irish accent before he went inside the flat.
At some point during the alleged attack on Martin Glynn the Blink camera had been moved inside the flat and it captured Field engaged in a ‘clean up’ while Mr Glynn was lying on the floor, the prosecution says.
‘Why did you give them to him Martin?’
On the afternoon of that attack at 4.41pm – more than five hours after the prosecution says the assault began – Field made another voice recording. The prosecution say this was a ‘tortured confession’.
It was played to the jury during yesterday’s hearing. In it, Field can be heard asking him why he ‘did that’.
"I didn’t do it,” says Mr Glynn.
"Do you know the Irishman has a copy of my house keys?” Field asks Mr Glynn.
"Yeah,” replies Mr Glynn, followed by, “I doubt it.”
"When did you give them to him, Martin?” says Field.
"I don’t remember,” he says.
"We’ve been friends for 20 years. Why did you betray me so easily?” says Field. “Did I do anything to deserve this?"
“No,” replies Mr Glynn.
Field denies murder and the alternate counts of manslaughter and GBH.
The trial continues.
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Read our previous reports from the murder trial here: