A couple beat and starved a man in their care until he resembled a 'walking skeleton', a court heard. Rubin Blount was placed in the care of Kenneth Newton, 57, and Melanie James, 63, by social workers. In the weeks before his death, he was seen scavenging for food in bins and weighed just seven stones, the court heard.
The Abuse
Blount suffered multiple rib fractures, a fractured spine, and cigarette burns, jurors were told. The couple are accused of murdering the man at their home in Tamworth, Staffordshire, in November 2022. The court also heard that they forced him to stand and filmed themselves mocking and threatening him.
Jennifer Josephs KC said 'cruel and violent' Newton and James 'treated their dog with more kindness and care' than Blount, whom they were meant to be caring for. Rubin was a 'sort of step-brother' to Newton as he was raised by the victim's father. However, the 'recovering drug addicts' continued to care for the vulnerable man 'for their own financial benefit' and abused him 'for their own fun and kicks', the court was told.
Financial Exploitation
Miss Josephs added that the defendants did not care for him. She said: 'They starved him and beat him and did nothing to help him. He was someone to be belittled, mocked, assaulted and kept there for their own financial benefit.' Rubin had been battered, assaulted, his ribs fractured, he had cigarette burns and injuries. 'They didn't just neglect and mistreat him. The crown's case is that they viciously assaulted him.'
Mr Blount had nearly 50 rib fractures 'seemingly caused on three separate occasions' at the time of his death, Stafford Crown Court heard. He also had a small spinal fracture. These injuries were 'caused by violence…such as punches, kicks, stamps.'
Background
Mr Blount moved in with the defendants after 20 years of living with his parents Eric and Jeanette Blount due to 'some concerns' in 2015. He had a low IQ and learning disabilities. Miss Josephs said: 'It was agreed with all including social services that he would move in with the defendants. Both defendants had both known Rubin since he was born. They both agreed that he would live with them, becoming a member of their household and they had assumed a level of responsibility for him.'
The jurors were told that James managed his finances and bank card, receiving £1,100 in benefits for all three of them into Mr Blount's account. Miss Josephs described the living conditions of their council home as 'disgusting'. It had no heating and the walls were covered in mould and smelt of urine. The prosecutor said the arrangement gave them the 'financial benefit of (Mr Blount) having the bedroom, and of course kept their source of money - Rubin's bank account.'
Community Witnesses
She added that members of the local community 'saw with their own eyes' how Mr Blount deteriorated over time. 'A few weeks before he died, he looked like a walking skeleton', the prosecutor claimed. 'He helped out in a local shop. The shopkeeper said he was always dirty and had poor hygiene but he was a lovely boy. Sometimes she gave him the odd tenner, sometimes she would give him food which he devoured, saying 'don't tell Mel'.'
The court also heard that Mr Blount regularly went to the local fish and chip shop and ordered three meals, however over time, James started making the order and clearly it 'didn't include food for Rubin.' 'This person last saw Rubin in October 2022, so a month or so before he died – and saw Rubin eating out of one of the bins in the street. He was described as so thin he had difficulty walking and his bones could be seen,' the court heard.
Death
In November 2022, Blount was hospitalised after James visited his parents and told them he hadn't eaten for two days. The couple were shocked when they saw their son in a 'trance-like' state and 'thin, pale, emaciated and skeletal'. He was suffering from pneumonia, had multiple rib fractures, kidney and liver dysfunction and heart damage, and suffered a cardiac arrest at hospital. He died four days later, with the cause of death recorded as septic shock, due to pneumonia and damage to the lung.
Miss Josephs told jurors: 'You may have questions or concerns about how it is he was left to live with these people…without any ongoing support. These may be valid questions, but they are for another day. But the fact is these two people were devious and deceitful and did their best to pull the wool over the eyes of the authorities. What we are looking at is the culpability of these two people who were left to their own devices and were able to neglect, abuse, assault, and kill a vulnerable man they were meant to be caring for.'
James and Newton, both of Handsworth, Birmingham, deny murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter. They also deny alternative charges of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult between November 1 and 27, 2022. The trial continues.
