Murder accused "lied to protect family"

Hunt (30), of Doncaster Road, Dalton, told officers arresting him for assault that he was in bed when Mushin Ahmed was viciously beaten in the street, last August 10.

But he summoned police to HMP Doncaster on August 19 — two days before the East Dene pensioner died from his injuries — to make a tearful admission that he had lied and given another version of the incident to protect his family.

In a transcript read at Sheffield Crown Court today, Hunt claimed he had lied to protect his sister, girlfriend and child from “f****** nutcase” Dale Jones.

Jones (30), of East Bawtry Road, Whiston, both deny murdering Mr Ahmed, who was attacker on his way to prayers at a mosque in Eastwood.

Retracting his previous account, Hunt told police: “I'm going to tell you who did it. Dale Jones did it.”

Hunt said he heard from witness Kieran Rice that Jones was arguing with partner Emma Hunt, Damien Hunt’s sister.

Hunt claims he went to his sister's house to “calm him down”, before taking Jones and his sister to his own house.

“We were stood on the front and this Mr Ahmed came up the ginnel,” Hunt told police.

“Dale’s saying: ‘Are you a groomer?’ to him.

“He’s seen him and started shouting and wanting to swing punches at him so I grabbed him with both arms telling him to calm down, telling that Mr Ahmed: ‘Get yourself on your way.’

“Mr Ahmed smiled at me and walked off. Dale said: ‘I want to go and have a word with him,’ so I said okay.

“I started walking back to my house, then thought: ‘No, don’t let him go there alone. What's he going to do to this old man?’

“I wanted to see that Mr Ahmed would be all right because Dale wasn't in a right frame of mind.”

Hunt went on to say Jones jogged off after Mr Ahmed. When Hunt caught up, he says Jones had already started beating the pensioner.

Then Jones turned on Hunt, he said, trading several blows before suddenly calming down.

“I don't know what happened to Mr Ahmed because I didn't go back,” Hunt said.

“He was on the floor making a snoring noise like he was asleep.

“But if I wasn't there to stop [Jones] he would have died that night.”

The interview was recorded two days before Mr Ahmed died in hospital of pneumonia, brought on by his injuries.

In a clip played for jurors, Hunt sobbed as he explained his past lies to police.

“I’ve never seen Dale like that,” he said. “His eyes were doing something weird.

“I can't sleep because I keep waking up in the middle of the night having nightmares about it.

“I’ve been sitting here wondering if it would be easier just to cut my wrists.”

He added: “That’s the reason I lied. Dale’s a f****** nutcase.

“He could go to my sister's house or my girlfriend's house and do something to my kids.

“If he can do this to an 80-something-year-old man, I think he could do it to a three-year-old lass.

“Everything I did, I did to protect my family.”

Hunt and Jones both deny murder. The trial continues.