Murder probes continue

9:31am Wednesday 9th April 2008

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TWO murder investigations were still under way in Gwent today.

Police in Newport announced a murder probe into the death of a 46-year-old man who died on Monday afternoon, two days after being assaulted in a city street.

Detectives arrested five men who were yesterday being questioned about his death.

Then, just hours later, officers in Abertillery found a dead 55-year-old man in a house on Richmond Road, Six Bells, triggering a second murder probe.

A 22-year-old man from Abertillery was arrested on suspicion of his murder.

Police sealed off an area of the street and the fire service was called to take out an upstairs window this afternoon to remove a family dog from a locked room in the house.

Officers were then seen climbing into the property through the window space and the dog was taken out of the front door.

Neighbours gathered in the street as scenes of crime officers carried out their investigations.

The man was named locally as Clive Owen, and neighbours said had been found at the bottom of the stairs between around 8am and 10am today.

One neighbour who did not want to be named said there had been a number of calls to police about disturbances at the house.

It is understood Mr Owen lived at the house with his son since the death of his wife three years ago.

Father-of-two John Sully, 46, from Forge Close, Caerleon, died on Monday afternoon.

He had suffered severe head injuries in an assault two days earlier, in the early hours of Saturday morning, on Albany Street, Newport.

Gwent Police are treating his death as murder and arrested five people.

Yesterday, police cordoned off the area around the house on Albany Street where they believe Mr Sully was assaulted.

It is understood Mr Sully had separated from his wife and had spent a lot of time at his sister's house in Albany Street in recent months.

Two police vans and a mobile crime scene investigation unit arrived around 9am and three officers in forensic gear gathered evidence inside and outside the house.

Shocked neighbours told the Argus they heard a disturbance in the early hours on Saturday, including men shouting in the street and kicking at the door of the house.

It is understood police were not told about the alleged assault until 2pm on Saturday.

Mr Sully went to hospital at 2.45pm on Saturday afternoon, but left after around two hours and returned to the Albany Street address where the assault happened.

But he collapsed sometime after midnight on Sunday night.

Neighbours said an ambulance attended on Albany Street and Mr Sully was admitted to the Royal Gwent Hospital at 12.43am on Monday.

He died at around 5pm on Monday, having suffered severe head injuries and swelling of the brain.

It is believed his whole body was also badly bruised.

Detectives are now appealing for any witnesses who saw or heard anything unusual in the area between 11pm on Friday, April 5, and 9am on Saturday, April 6, to call 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111