An army veteran was beaten to death before his body was dumped in a shallow grave by a man he had met on Grindr, a court heard.
Paul Taylor, 56, was discovered covered in branches in Cumbria seven months after he was last seen alive by his wife Maria at their home in Annan, Scotland, in October 2023.
Jack Crawley, 20, has admitted to killing the father-of-two but denies murder, the court heard.
The pair met up in Carlisle through the gay dating app before Crawley ‘completely smashed in’ Mr Taylor’s head, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
Forensic anthropologist Linda Ainscough said: ‘There was evidence of blunt force traumatic injuries, forceful impacts, to the head, causing extensive fragmentation of bones in the cranium and lower part of the jaw.’
Jurors were shown pictures of Paul’s remains showing that his lower left leg had been separated from the rest of his body and part of his left arm was missing.
The court heard Crawley had listened to a song called Romantic Homicide and had ‘murder on his mind’ before the killing.
He later took detectives to Mr Taylor’s body in a hollow in Finglandrigg Wood, west of Carlisle, with two sapling bent over in an attempt to hide the remains and impede access.
The reserve’s manager Susan Woodland said she found a burn site with charred clothing just metres away from the grave site while on a visit with primary school children.
Mr Taylor’s wife said he ‘literally vanished into thin air’ after she found he had left the house while she was asleep.
She had not known her husband had a sexual interest in men and used the Grindr app.
Prosecutor David McLachlan said Crawley had already admitted manslaughter and claimed he had been trying to steal Mr Taylor’s car after meeting him in Carlisle.
He said: ‘The prosecution case is this was not a bungled robbery. It was far from the Romantic Homicide but in fact was a premeditated killing during which severe violence was meted out on Paul Taylor. His head was completely smashed in.’
During the time Mr Taylor was still missing, Crawley was seen wearing an ‘obviously fake wig and beard’ on December 31 around the turn of the new year.
He was caught on CCTV at a Pemier Inn in Penrith, where he made a hotel worker feel so uncomfortable he told him the hotel was full.
Around 8am on January 1, Crawley visited Penrish train station and put on a fake accent.
Employee Jenny Chapman told the court: ‘The first thing that struck me was that he was wearing an obviously fake wig and beard.
‘The beard looked like that of the character Hagrid in Harry Potter. It was obvious he was putting on a fake accent; like an Eastern European accent.’
‘He said, “I need a — how you say — ticket,” I remember thinking why was he putting on a fake accent as he clearly had a local accent.’
The trial continues.
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