Man accused of conspiring to get hitman to murder wife chooses not to give evidence

Wales Online

6 days ago

Man accused of conspiring to get hitman to murder wife chooses not to give evidence
Paul Lewis and his neighbour Dominique Saunders are said to have agreed to secure the services of a hitman
Both defendants deny conspiracy to murder and are on trial at Merthyr Crown Court
(Image: MEDIA WALES )
A man accused of plotting with a neighbour to get a hitman to kill his estranged wife has opted not to give evidence at his trial - as has the neighbour he is alleged to have come to the agreement with.
Swansea men Paul Lewis and Dominique Saunders are said to have agreed to secure the services of a killer-for-hire to murder Lewis' former partner Joanne Atkinson-Lewis, with Lewis handing over £1,500 to pay for the "hit". No such attack on Miss Atkinson-Lewis was ever carried out.
‌
Both defendants deny conspiracy to murder and are on trial at Merthyr Crown Court.
‌
At the conclusion of the prosecution case John Hipkin KC for Lewis and and John Harrison KC for Saunders said their respective clients would not be giving evidence nor calling any evidence.
It is the prosecution case that between February and April 2023 Lewis entered into an agreement with his neighbour Saunders to arrange for someone to kill Miss Atkinson-Lewis following the breakdown of their 10-year marriage, and that Lewis paid his co-defendant £1,500 to facilitate it.
The jury heard that Miss Atkinson-Lewis was not, in fact, murdered but the alleged offence is the conspiracy - that is the agreement - between the two defendants intending that the act be carried out. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter
Article continues below
The jury has been shown text messages between the defendants during the period of the alleged conspiracy which the prosecution say show the conspiracy. In the messages Lewis said "I want her out" and "death becomes her" and told Saunders on a number of times, "I paid money in good faith".
In other messages Lewis said he had "seen Joanne on Aberavon beach and she looked okay" and said "she is breathing" and continually asked to see footage of something he believed had been filmed on a GoPro camera.
The jury has also seen details of internet searches made by Saunders which featured queries about guns and shooting ranges, and searches linked to the address of Miss Atkinson-Lewis.
‌
The court heard Lewis came to believe he had been scammed by his neighbour and the defendants - who lived in the same block of flats in Swansea Marina - subsequently had a falling out with Saunders telling Lewis to "grow a pair of balls" and saying: "I'll send you that bloke's number and you can get your fifteen hundred back. Don't ask me to help again. I'm out."
The jury has heard that the alleged murderous plot came to light when Lewis' son Keiran Lewis went to his dad's flat on April 29, 2023, his partner Sidney West due to concerns about the defendant's mental health.
The court heard the son examined his father's phone and then asked him directly if he had put a "hit" on Joanne. Mr Lewis told the jury his father "gave no reply, just a nod of confirmation and broke down crying in front of him".
‌
In her evidence Ms West told the court she asked the defendant "Do you understand you've paid someone to take someone's mother away?" and he replied "Yeah".
The jury has also heard that on March 22, 2023, Lewis withdrew £1,500 from his bank in Swansea city centre and hours later Saunders paid £1,300 into his account, and that in May 2023 Lewis phoned South Wales Police to say his neighbour had scammed him - Lewis was advised that the dispute between them was a civil matter.
The jury has also heard that during 2021, 2022, 2023 Lewis spent prolonged periods as an inpatient in psychiatric hospitals in Swansea and Port Talbot, completing his last hospital stay on March 20, 2023.
‌
Though the defendants have chosen not to give evidence, the jury did hear opening statements from their barristers.
John Hipkin KC, for Lewis, said in the 18 months to two years before April 2023 his client had been struggling with his mental health and was "vulnerable" and "an ideal target for those who might financially take advantage of him".
He said there was no dispute that his client had paid Saunders £1,500 but asked the jury to consider if somebody who had paid money to arrange for his ex-wife to be killed would subsequently call police to complain that he had been scammed and would make enquiries about taking action in the small claims court to recover the money, both of which he said Lewis had done.
‌
The barrister said whatever Lewis may have thought or intended, the defence would say that Saunders set about scamming Lewis and took the £1,500 then "simply pushed off to Benidorm with the money".
In his opening statement for Saunders, John Harrison KC told the jury that a conspiracy requires an agreement and that it is his client's case that there was no agreement of any kind between the two men.
He said all the defendant did was "make some internet searches and go on holiday to Benidorm". The barrister said there was no evidence Saunders knew a hitman or knew how to contact one, and no evidence he had ever supplied the number of a hitman.
‌
The barrister said the defence will argue that the prosecution evidence is "wholly insufficient" and he told the jurors that it would be reasonable for them to conclude, as the co-defendant had come to believe, that Saunders had scammed Lewis out of £1,500.
In brief legal directions the judge Mr Justice Nicklin told the jurors they would have to find both defendants guilty or both defendants not guilty, he told them he could not find one guilty and one not guilty.
Paul Lewis, aged 54, and Dominique Saunders, aged 35, both of Fishmarket Quay, Swansea Marina, Swansea deny conspiracy to murder. The trial continues.
Article continues below