Neighbour ‘took £1.5k to hire hitman to kill pal's wife… before he ditched job and spent cash on Benidorm hols'
Paul Lewis, 54, is accused of paying the money to his neighbour to arrange the
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Paul Lewis, 54, allegedly paid his neighbour £1,500 to find a hitman to kill his wife
Credit: WNS
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Saunders, 35, allegedly claimed the hit had been carried out
Credit: WNS
Dominique Saunders, 35, allegedly told Lewis that the job was done and said there were photos and
But Lewis, a former steelworker from Swansea, was stunned to find his ex, Joanne Atkinson-Lewis, "still breathing" at a nearby beach.
Saunders, known locally as "Dippy Dom", was allegedly stringing Lewis along before splashing the cash on a Benidorm holiday.
Lewis' barrister, John Hipkin KC, told the court the grandfather was "vulnerable" due to his poor mental health and had been scammed by his neighbour.
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Mr Hipkin said Saunders had "simply pushed off to Benidorm with the money".
Saunders' own barrister John Harrison KC said Saunders never had any intention for Joanne to be harmed.
All he did was "make some internet searches and go on holiday to Benidorm", he said.
Prosecutor William Hughes KC said cops launched an investigation after Lewis confessed he had "put a hit" on his ex to his son, Kieran.
Most read in The Sun
Mr Hughes said: "During a conversation Mr Lewis accepted that he entered into an agreement with Mr Saunders to arrange for his ex-wife to be killed.
"Kieran Lewis asked his father: 'Have you put a hit out on Joanne?'
"Mr Lewis apparently broke down crying and nodded at his son acknowledging that he had made such an agreement."
Lewis' son Kieran called the police on his dad who uncovered the alleged hitman plot in messages between the two men, who lived in the same block of flats in Swansea.
Hughes said the messages revealed that: "Mr Lewis entered into an agreement in which he paid Mr Saunders £1,500 which the prosecution say was a fee to arrange for the killing of Joanne Atkinson-Lewis."
Hughes added that financial information showed Lewis withdrew £1,500 from his bank in Swansea and on the same day Saunders deposited a sum of £1,300 into his own account.
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Messages between the two men in the following days showed Lewis repeatedly saying he had given Saunders £1,500 "in good faith" and demanded to "see the
One message from Saunders read: "Death becomes her."
The jury was told that Lewis later messaged Saunders to say he had "seen Joanne on Aberavon Prom and she was ok."
Saunders replied: "Are you 99 per cent sure?"
Lewis confirmed: "I am 100 per cent sure."
A day later Lewis messaged his neighbour again saying: "I want her out."
The two later fell out after Lewis believed he had been scammed from his money.
One message from Saunders said: "You mad or what? How have I scammed you?
"The bloke got your money to do work, I ain't got a thing so tell me how I scammed you."
Lewis replied: "She is still breathing.
"Your story keeps changing. You said there were pictures on your phone, then it was on the GoPro.
"I've not even seen the pictures, you're a liar."
Prosecutor Hughes said: "Those series of messages clearly demonstrate Mr Lewis and Mr Saunders entered into a criminal agreement where Mr Lewis agreed to pay and did pay Mr Saunders £1,500 to facilitate the murder of Joanne Atkinson-Lewis.
"A reasonable interpretation is that Mr Saunders led Mr Lewis to believe he had paid a hitman to carry out the act and he had photographs on his phone or on his GoPro device.
"However once Paul Lewis saw his ex-wife was still alive and breathing on Aberavon Beach he realised the criminal agreement he made with Dominque Saunders hadn't been carried out."
The two men from Swansea both deny conspiracy to commit murder and one cannot be found guilty without the other.
Neither chose to give evidence in their defence.
The trial before judge Mr Justice Nicklin will continue at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
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Paul Lewis split from his wife two years previously
Credit: Athena
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Lewis fell out with Saunders after he felt he had been scammed of his money
Credit: WNS
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The Irish Sun
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- The Irish Sun
I looked serial rapist in the eye after he drugged & stripped girls for vile hot tub fantasy…sick home videos snared him
NAKED and unconscious, a young blonde girl is dragged across a concrete patio by her legs before being dumped into a hot tub and brutally raped. Sick predator Craig France filmed the shocking assault, but like most of his unwitting victims this girl has no memory of her harrowing ordeal. 18 Craig France filmed his victims and shared footage with depraved pals Credit: Cambridgeshire Police 18 Hidden cameras captured France urging girls to frolic in his hot tub Credit: Channel 4 18 France exposed himself to young girls he lured to his home Credit: Channel 4 18 Cops uncovered a stash of booze that the rapist used to lure his young victims to after parties at his house Credit: Channel 4 Night after night he would prowl nightclubs and bars, preying on the drunkest girls he could find - many of them still in their teens. He'd then lead the staggering women into a taxi, having booked it himself so they would not know his address. Back at his house in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, vile France, 34, would ply the girls with more booze and record himself having sex with them as they slumped semi-conscious or asleep. His drinks cabinet was groaning with bottles of spirit and alcopops to keep them compliant, while every window was blacked out so his victims had no idea if it was day or night. READ MORE FEATURES France installed a sinister network of 10 covert recording devices around his house and garden, including his bedroom and one trained permanently on his outdoor hot tub. He amassed hours of stomach-churning footage which eventually helped police snare him when a brave young woman came forward last September reporting France for rape. He was jailed for 10 years in March, but cops fear there could be thousands more victims who have no idea that former lorry driver France ever attacked them. It's believed France had been committing his sinister crimes - laid bare in the latest episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody, along with footage from his sick cache of home videos - for years before the full force of the law caught up with him. Most read in The Sun Speaking exclusively to The Sun, DCI Helen Tebbit from the Cambridgeshire Police Rape Investigation Team said: 'They are the actions of a sexual predator, it's the worst I've seen in 20 years of policing." The documentary reveals how detectives began their wide-reaching investigation after receiving a distressing 999 call from a woman who said Craig raped her two years earlier. Who is Craig France and how long did the sexual predator get for his offences She had believed they were pals, and it quickly emerged that sleazy France was renowned for the notorious parties he hosted, with a reputation for picking up girls at his favourite haunt, Flares Peterborough. DCI Tebbit explained: 'He is very well known in the nightlife scene in Peterborough, they know he's a nice guy - he buys loads of drinks, encourages them to come back to his house where he'd have parties. 'This is the way in which he operates. 'But what he has recorded and documented are not the actions of someone who should be trusted. 'He targets young girls only just old enough to drink - all of them saw him as a friend.' He targets young girls only just old enough to drink - all of them saw him as a friend DCI Tebbit In devastating footage from her first police interview the young girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attempted to recall hazy memories of the night at France's house. Shaking and clutching a cuddly toy whale, she said: 'He had a charm about him, very friendly and outgoing. 'I went to his house because I trusted him. I just thought he was my friend. "He got some Sambuca out of the fridge, I did one shot and after that I felt like I was becoming less aware. It was almost like I wasn't in my mind or body properly. 'All I remember is being in a hot tub. I'm not sure how I ended up there. 18 France secretly recorded hours of footage of drunk girls in his hot tub Credit: CHANNEL 4 18 France broke down and wept when police confronted him with evidence Credit: Channel 4 18 Veteran cop DCI Helen Tebbit had to trawl thousands of sick videos and messages Credit: BPM The confused victim went on: 'Then I woke up in the bed. I didn't have any clothes on which was scary for me - I never undress around people. 'He was in the bathroom washing himself because he had blood on him. That's when I realised I was bleeding. 'I've literally never been the same since it happened, I've gone downhill.' Sinister obsession Police were unable to confirm whether she had been spiked, but following her damning testimony they brought France in for questioning and conducted a search of his home, where they discovered restraints attached to his bed and a huge collection of sex toys. There were also love letters, including one from a girl telling him she was leaving school in six months, as well as more than 70 bottles of nasal spray and a huge sign saying Get Naked. The search also revealed his sinister obsession with hidden recording devices. Officers found more than 6,000 images and videos of unidentified women secretly filmed at his home between March 2022 and September 2023. Crucially, cops found the key video which showed the woman who'd come forward, barely able to stand, being dragged from the garden to the bathroom and being raped on his bed while she appeared 'lifeless'. 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Vile cache 18 Cops downloaded thousands of videos and photos from France's devices Credit: Channel 4 18 Detective Sergeant Mark Hodgson said it was among the worst cases he's seen Credit: Channel 4 18 Detective Sergeant Amie Meston and Detective Constable Em Skates quizzed France Credit: Channel 4 In one of his pathetic police interviews France attempted to defend himself by claiming that sex with the first victim was consensual, but DCI Tebbit observed: 'There's no way she's got capacity to consent to anything. 'She's completely out of it. That shows she was completely incapable, that cannot be considered consensual based on the video - she was in no state to consent to anything. That's really damning. "He deliberately targeted very young women as it may not have taken as much to get them intoxicated. He was using their age as a vulnerability." "It was almost like a David Attenborough documentary, watching every single thing he has done in the four walls of his house," she added. 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He was convicted of a string of offences including rape, sexual assault, voyeurism and exposure. Prosecutor Andrew Young said: 'Craig France is a deplorable predator who targeted young women and established their trust, before ruthlessly exploiting them. 'France built up an extensive set of images, all kept for his own sexual gratification. He and he alone is to blame for his disgusting offending.' The judge added that France posed a "toxic risk" to society. Speaking ahead of tonight's documentary, DCI Tebbit said: "This programme will show that sexual predators can cleverly disguise their depraved behaviours - victims may not realise they are being groomed. "France portrayed himself as everyone's best friend – caring, fun, and provided what his victims thought was a safe place to party. "But in reality he preyed on young women who had barely entered adulthood for his own sexual gratification." 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The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
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You get people sitting around here and they will search inside ash trays to see what they can get. It's definitely a different place to what I grew up in Sean McGarrell NHS worker Lisa Birnie, 50, said: "I don't like coming down to the centre anymore. I used to walk through it all the time but now it gives me anxiety. "I would come on my own but you see people on drugs all of the time. "It's not just drugs either, they drink on the seats around here. It's more so older people that you see on them. Advertisement "You get people in their twenties but it reaches people in their fifties and sixties. I wouldn't even take the kids to the cinema now, it's that bad around here." Sean McGarrell, 47, said: "I hadn't heard of what happened at Harlow Green but [drug-taking] is a big issue in Gateshead. "I see [users] off their faces walking around like zombies, that's what it's like during the day. "You see them around Tesco and places around the centre when you turn a corner. 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Justin added: "There is always hope, and that's what you have to cling onto." Gateshead Council's Director of Public Health, Alice Wiseman, said: "It's incredibly sad to hear about a life lost to drugs in our area. "We know that far too many lives are lost to drugs in Gateshead every year.' Advertisement We know that far too many lives are lost to drugs in Gateshead every year Alice Wiseman, Gateshead Council's Director of Public Health She told us there have been 300 deaths by drugs in the 20 years to 2022 and the number of losses are quickly rising. "Behind each number is a story of a life lost too soon, and of loved ones left behind, grappling with grief,' Alice said. "Reducing the stigma around drugs in our society is the best way we can support people living with addiction to get the help they need. 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They said: "Given the similarities of these reports from the same area, it is important that we ensure this warning message is shared far and wide. "If you are a drug user, or know anybody struggling with addiction, please be mindful of this message as we suspect this particular batch could have fatal consequences. Advertisement "Anyone with information is asked to get in touch by sending a DM [direct message] or use live chat and report forms on the Force's website." For help, the
