A BRYNMAWR man accused of murdering someone after a pub fight said he “just flipped” after being goaded by his alleged victim, a jury heard.
Newport Crown Court heard yesterday that Gareth Jenkins, 48, and Harry Towers, 56, squared off in the Britannia pub, Abergavenny, on October 28, 2010.
A pub employee got between them and they both swung a punch at each other and missed.
Reading police interview transcripts from August 2011, prosecutor Andrew Thomas told the court how Jenkins said following this confrontation, Mr Towers took off his jacket, jumper and Tshirt and shouted “come on then” at Jenkins.
While being interviewed by DS Nicola Brain, Jenkins said despite swearing at him and telling him to go away, Mr Towers kept winding him up, saying: “Come on big boy, let’s go outside and finish this.”
Jenkins, of Boundary Street, said: “In the end, I just flipped.”
The pair walked outside the pub, which is where they fought.
Jenkins, who said he had drunk seven or eight pints, said Mr Towers had served a prison sentence for manslaughter and came down to Abergavenny from his native Manchester and had a reputation for carrying knives or weapons.
He told police: “If I hit him once and tried to getaway, he could stab me in the back. I was frightened.”
Mr Towers, who suffered a fractured jaw, cheekbone and eyesocket and a displaced fracture of a wrist, died on December 22, 2010 at Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny.
Proceeding.
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