Willington Queen’s Head manslaughter trial told defendant killed ‘dad’

The revelation came on the second day of Martin Greensmith’s trial following the death of Steven Shevels on Christmas Eve last year.

Jurors at Teesside Crown Court heard how the 61-year-old was asked to leave The Queen’s Head pub in Willington after he became an annoyance to the Greensmith family.

Wayne Palmer, who worked as a barman in the pub, was too ill to give evidence in person and his statement was read out by prosecutor Jolyon Perks.

In the statement Mr Palmer said Greensmith’s mum Angela had told him “that Steve was Martin’s dad and that she had told Martin that he was his father.”

“I felt that Angela had just told Martin by the way she was talking – I was absolutely shocked at the news,” he said.

“I never mentioned it to anyone else, and nobody else overheard.”

The witness said he had bumped into Mr Shevels in the King’s Head in Crook before he started his shift at the Queen’s Head, and the deceased later turned up unexpectedly.

Mr Palmer described him as a ‘vulnerable soul’ who liked a drink and had a reputation in pubs in his home town of Crook.

The court has heard how Greensmith was in the pub with his mother Angela, uncle, grandmother and two brothers enjoying a drink during the festive period.

Describing what happened on the day, the barman said a customer urged him to keep on eye on Mr Shevels as there was ‘an awkward atmosphere’ as he talked to the defendant’s uncle Trevor Greensmith.

“I could tell by their body language that it was not too pleasant,” he said. “On seeing this, I immediately left the bar and asked Steve to drink up.”

He said Mr Shevels finished his pint and headed to the toilet and thought no more about it.

“A short while later, Martin appeared at the bar asking for a glass of water saying – ‘he’s gone over’.

“I followed him into the beer garden and once there saw Steve laid on the ground with people working on him as he appeared unconscious and unresponsive.

“Martin was with Steve crying and I asked him what happened and he didn’t reply, he just continued to cry.”

Greensmith’s mother, Angela, was doing CPR on Mr Shevels until the paramedics arrived at the scene and took over before declaring him deceased an hour later.

Police outside the Queen’s Head in Willington on Christmas day (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

The court heard how earlier in the afternoon, Ms Greensmith looked at Mr Shevels sitting at the bar and then gave a look towards the barman who, laughing, said ‘I know, he’s an arsehole, isn’t he’.

Mr Palmer said: “Angela then told me that Steve was Martin’s dad and that she had told Martin that he was his father.

“I felt that Angela had just told Martin by the way she was talking – I was absolutely shocked at the news.

“I never mentioned it to anyone else, and nobody else overheard.”

Paul Rooney, representing the 37-year-old, told jurors he would have raised a number of topics with the witness if he had been well enough to attend court.

He said he would have explored the demeanour of Mr Shevels in the pub and the defendant at the time of the incident. Mr Rooney said he would also have checked which pubs Mr Shevels was barred from and the reason why.

The jury heard how police body-worn camera footage captured Mr Palmer telling officers that Mr Shevels was ‘getting on their nerves a bit’ – the Greensmith family – and asked him to leave.

Another clip captured Mr Palmer telling an officer that Mr Shevels was not getting aggressive but he could see he was getting on their nerves.

Earlier in the trial, CCTV footage captured a series of interactions between Mr Shevels and the defendant’s mother Angela Greensmith, before he barged into the alleged victim while he was at the bar.

Greensmith then made an indecent hand gesture towards Mr Shevels before his mother and uncle intervened and moved him away.

Later in the day, cameras captured the defendant push Mr Shevels to the ground in the pub’s beer garden and the 61-year-old cracked his head on the concrete.

Pathologist Jennifer Bolton told the court that Mr Shevels suffered a cardiac arrest while unconscious and never recovered.

She said the cause of death was triggered by the fall and not an underlying heart condition he had.

Greensmith, of Rockingham Road, Sunnybrow, Willington, denies a charge of manslaughter and maintains that he acted in self-defence.

The trial continues.