Crawley men are accused of manslaughter

Callum Beale, 25, of Furnace Green, Crawley, and David Marr, 27, of Ifield, Crawley, deny manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm without intent to Thomas Kelly, who had undergone a heart transplant when he was just three years old.

A jury has heard that Mr Kelly died following an altercation outside Lloyds Barbers in Crawley High Street at around 3am on October 21, 2017.

David Marr’s brother, John, 32, of Northgate, Crawley, denies affray. This charge relates to an earlier incident a short time before the fight in the High Street, which led to Thomas Kelly’s cardiac arrest.

It is the prosecution’s case that a complex “feud” had developed between the four men, which came to a head on October 20, 2017, following a car event in Crawley called ‘Smoke and Tyres”.

Alan Gardner QC, prosecuting, has told the jury to consider “how a young man of 22” came to suffer a cardiac arrest during the altercation.

“That question is at the heart of the allegation of manslaughter brought by the prosecution against Callum Beale and David Marr,” he has told the court.

“The cardiac arrest occurred when he was on the receiving end of blows struck by David Marr, assisted by Callum Beale. At least one of those blows struck him on the chest. The evidence suggests he was also struck on the jaw.

“Both Callum Beale and David Marr knew about Tom Kelly’s cardiac vulnerability: they had known him for some time prior to his death.

“Those blows, along with the stress, alarm and fear that the assault must have caused to Tom Kelly, resulted in his cardiac arrest.

“That assault was, at the very least, a significant factor which led to his death two weeks or so later.”

The court has heard that a car chase between a BMW – which contained Beale and David Marr – and two Suzukis, one of them containing Mr Kelly, led to the altercation outside Lloyds Barbers in the High Street.

Mr Kelly died in hospital on November 3, two weeks after the altercation.

The trial, at Hove Crown Court, continues.

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