Pensioner denies shooting gay pair in row over mother

Ernest Wright told a jury that when Neville Corby was "executed" and his gay partner Craig Freear seriously injured by shotgun blasts, he was with Mr Freear's mother in Shipley.

The 68-year-old said he went into hiding after the shooting because he was on licence at the time and did not want to be arrested and returned to prison.

He told Newcastle Crown Court that he sent letters protesting his innocence to the police from Morecambe and Heysham in Lancashire, before moving back to his own neighbourhood in Howarth Crescent, Bradford.

Friends helped him during the 30 days he was in hiding and he ended up hiding "next door but one from my home".

Robert Smith QC, defending, him asked: "Were you in any way responsible for shooting Mr Corby and Mr Freear?"

"No," replied Wright.

The jury has heard the masked gunman entered the home of the two men in Ashbourne Road, Bradford around 7.50am on the morning of March 30.

Six shots were fired and Mr Corby, 42, was killed. Mr Freear escaped by jumping out of the bathroom window.

Wright denies the murder of Mr Corby, attempted murder of Mr Freear and possessing a double barrelled shotgun with intent.

The prosecution claims there was an increasingly bitter dispute between Wright and the two victims after Wright befriended Mr Freear's vulnerable disabled mother Melissa Crocker and persuaded her to have her benefits paid into Wright's bank account.

Wright then helped Miss Crocker move from a flat below him in Howarth Crescent to a house in Stubbings Way, Shipley.

There was subsequently a confrontation in the garden of that house, in which he said Mr Corby had picked up a 6ft fence post. Wright said he had defended himself with a spade but was struck on the shoulder. The following day Mr Corby reversed into his car.

Wright told the jury he arrived at the house in Shipley at 7.47am on March 30 to pick up Miss Crocker to take her to Leeds to see a solicitor about getting an injunction against Mr Corby.

Under cross-examination by Richard Mansell QC, prosecuting, Wright said he had befriended Miss Crocker because he felt sorry for her and denied he wanted to "control her".

He said it was her idea, not his, to have Miss Crocker's benefits paid into his account while her finances were sorted out.

"I just wanted to help," he said.

He denied in the days leading up the shooting he was "losing control of the situation" and said he considered Mr Corby a bully.

"Do you think they are the sort of people who need a taste of their own medicine," asked Mr Mansell.

"It's not for me to dish it out is it," replied Wright adding: "They always get their come-uppance at a later date."

The trial continues.