Closing speeches made in trial of man accused of killing partner and covering her head with a plastic bag

The trial will resume on Monday

The jury has been sent home for the weekend. The trial will resume on Monday morning.

Jury sent out to start deliberations

Croeso / welcome to our continuing coverage of the trial of Mathew Pickering. Judge Paul Thomas KC has summed up the evidence in the case to jurors, and they have gone out to begin their deliberations.

'We’ll invite you to find Pickering not guilty of murder'

Concluding his speech, Mr Hipkin said: “We suggest ladies and gentlemen this has been a difficult and time consuming case…

“The position is when you come to review everything, we have tried our best to represent Mr Pickering's interests the best we can.

“If you are sure he is guilty of murder then you must find him guilty. We suggest the prosecution have not come near that, they haven’t discharged their burden and the standard of proof and if that’s right then we’ll invite you to find him not guilty of murder.”

The trial adjourns and will resume at 10am tomorrow.

Barrister refutes Pickering had spent time 'thinking up a story'

Mr Hipkin denied his client was a “jealous person”.

He also refuted the idea that Pickering was “thinking up a story” in the time period before the police discovered Ms Dowey’s body.

Quoting the defendant’s father, Mr Hipkin said: “He appeared to me as someone who had collapsed inside.”

He referred to his client “not being able to think straight” because he was stressed and had been in an “extremely traumatic incident”.

The barrister added: “He’s admitted to intending to kill her in those moments which has led him to pleading guilty to homicide, unlawful killing. He’s not pleading guilty to self defence, a complete defence.

“If he was making up a story, do you not think he would have made up a story that would have left him in the best position possible. But the truth ladies and gentlemen, the truth, the truth.”

Pickering knew Miss Dowey 'could at any stage make a false allegation against him'

Mr Hipkin said: “What was the reality of life for Matthew Pickering with her?”

He said there was no evidence to suggest his client drunk too much.

The barrister added: “He is a quiet man, socially awkward, he is a sensitive man and a man having difficulty showing emotion.

“He was living with an alcoholic who came into contact with the police 96 times. He knew because of her condition she could be seriously violent at any time, and knew she could at any stage make a false allegation against him. In fact she had done that when he was pulled away and had his liberty taken away for nine hours.

“The kind of relationship that would keep you up at night. Precarious life. Anything could happen at any time. That was the reality of life for him.”

Barrister says police accepted Miss Dowey was dangerous

Was Georgina Dowey capable of serious violence and doing things of an extremely grave nature?

He referred to Ms Dowey stabbing a neighbour with a knife to the left side of his chest, and causing a punctured lung.

The barrister also referred to her punching and headbutting her ex partner Andrew Jelly.

Mr Hipkin said: “The police seem to accept having gone through the documentation she was dangerous.”

The barrister also asked if Ms Dowey was capable of making things up, would “blow with the wind” and make up “extremely grave but false accusations”.

Mr Hipkin referred to Ms Dowey making an accusation of harassment against Pickering to the police. He said: “She was extremely intoxicated and couldn’t remember calling the police.”

He said this was “complete nonsense”and amounted to no more than an argument.

The barrister said Pickering supported Ms Dowey “throughout her life”.

Defence says Pickering was a 'kind' man who took Miss Dowey to appointments

Mr Hipkin referred to a comment made by Ms Dowey’s mother.

He quoted her as saying: “She has done far too much and too much damage over the years for me to trust, I will always have to keep a distance Matthew…

“Please remember Matthew, she has been to prison once and has no fear of going back. Be careful when you end it.”

He said the prosecution is trying to portray his client as “an angry man”. Referring to a witness referring to the defendant as being angry in work, Mr Hipkin said: “Who hasn’t?”

The barrister referred to Pickering having no previous convictions, apart from a driving matter in Australia.

Mr Hipkin said: “(Pickering) was kind, there was unchallenged evidence he took Georgina Dowey regularly to many appointments.”

Defence begins closing speech

The trial resumes.

John Hipkin KC, who represents Pickering, begins his closing speech.

He reminds the jury it’s up to the prosecution to prove the case against his client, and emotion should not cloud their judgement.

Mr Hipkin says he will have to say critical things about Ms Dowey, and he “does not take pleasure” in doing so.

He says to do this for gratuitous reasons, is the “last thing on earth” he’d want to do.

The barrister asked how Ms Dowey came to be living with Pickering. He said she was evicted from a refuge and a hotel for “inappropriate behaviour”.

He added: “As has happened so many times in society and life, people who are trouble, the state simply washes their hands of them and the state leaves it to an individual to pick up the pieces, i.e. him (pointing at Pickering).

“He was left to deal with it, he remember, let’s be real, he as a healthcare professional probably had mixed emotions. He knew she was trouble, let’s be frank, and he knew she would be a pain but he didn’t want to see her homeless.”

Prosecution invites jury to return murder verdict

Concluding his comments, Mr Jones said: “(Pickering) has sought to blame (Ms Dowey) for contributing to her death by her behaviour, we say he knew exactly what he did to her and what he had done to her.”

Mr Jones alleges Pickering had covered her face with a bin bag, sent himself a fake text message and disposed of her phones.

The barrister added: “He assaulted her that night and strangled her not because he lost control but if anything lost his temper. Rather than contacting the police or calling people who would be sympathetic to him, he disposed of various items…

“The true verdict we submit to you is manslaughter, the true verdict is murder and that’s the verdict we invite you to make.”

The trial adjourns for a short break.

'Pickering only had thoughts for himself'

Mr Jones said: “That body remained in the house, there was no call to the police…

“What you get is things like him going out, taking stuff out of the cannabis grinder, the trip to the house. His father said there was nothing untowards going on with him at the time, the change of clothes...why not say to his father what had happened and for the police to be called?

“We submit there’s an element here of thinking time, there’s an element here of ‘Right, what’s happened’.

“Ultimately his father, concerned about what his son was disclosing, called the police.

“Despite being asked repeatedly, he gave no explanation. The police were being calm and gentle with him. He gave no explanation at all about what happened in that house. You may think there was no explanation.

“We say he minimised what happened to her and only had thoughts for himself.

"He said ‘She’s dead, she’s died. I was just defending myself. She was going off on one as usual’.

“When asked by the officer what had happened, he turned to his father and brother and said: ‘You don’t want to hear this’. His reply was ‘She’s in a mess’.

“At no point did he say she came at him with a weapon.”

'We say it was murder, the intention to kill a person'

The trial resumes.

Mr Jones recounts evidence in which Ms Dowey described Pickering as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character, and he had gone through messages on her phone.

The barrister said it was up to the jury to consider the fact the defendant took the ashtray from Ms Dowey and that she “came at him with a fruit knife”.

He referred to Ms Dowey being frail, five foot five and of little strength.

He added: “What does he do with (the knife)? He takes it off her and puts it in the drawer."

Mr Jones said: “We don’t say this was loss of control or manslaughter, we say it was murder, the intention to kill a person.”

Barrister directs jury to comments by Pickering's former colleague

Referring to Pickering, Mr Jones said: “Is he, as he sought to portray, the calm and measured person you saw?..”

“He was unemployed at the time and I asked him if he on occasions had an issue with his temper.”

The barrister referred to the defendant being sacked at Glangwili Hospital, and Georgina “not being in the picture at the time”.

The barrister referred to a colleague of Pickering’s describing the defendant becoming “red” and having “angry facial expressions” when stressed in work.

Mr Jone said: “That is the reason why you’re here and why Georgina was strangled to death.”

He asked whether Pickering had taken advantage of her financial situation, of her prescription drugs and of her vulnerable situation.

The barrister said if Ms Dowey was violent, Pickering wouldn’t want her in the house or to be sleeping there.

He also asked whether there were times when Ms Dowey would have been frightened of the defendant. He said she had gone to his home as a “last resort”.

The trial adjourns for lunch and will resume at 2.05pm.

'An abject breathtaking lack of remorse'

Prosecutor Michael Jones KC begins his closing speech.

He said it’s “tragic” Georgina Dowey is not here to give her account, and the jury only has the account of the defendant.

The barrister said: “If somebody lost control and immediately afterwards regretted it and thought I wish that hadn't happened there would be remorse.

“In this case there has been an abject breathtaking lack of remorse for what he did to her. This isn’t loss of control, this is loss of temper.”

Mr Jones referred to the defendant’s guilty plea to manslaughter. He said: “We say he is guilty of more than that, we say he is guilty of murder.”

The prosecutor said Miss Dowey and the defendant had a “turbulent relationship, it would not have been a surprise she had been drinking".

He said: “Georgina Dowey lived a pretty sorry, unfortunate and sad life, addicted to alcohol and difficulties brought with it. The defendant knew that background, he held her wholly responsible for losing his job.”

Mr Jones said Miss Dowey was intoxicated and drunk when she was allegedly murdered.

He said: “What happened to her when this five foot five, seven stone woman was intoxicated?... The defendant is a relatively fit man, and we know in the months and weeks leading up to her murder that Georgina was quite frail, she was not strong, we know she had a bad shoulder sufficient enough she couldn’t even put it in her dressing gown. Particularly in drink.”

Judge gives jury a route to delivering verdict

Judge Paul Thomas KC provides a jury with a route to verdict.

He said the prosecution must make the jury sure of Pickering’s guilt and the prosecution must prove guilt. He added the jury must not allow emotion to affect their verdict.

The judge reminded the jury Pickering has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but the prosecution say he is guilty of murder. He said: “That’s the decision you have to make.”

He said Pickering has said he lost control, and it is up to the prosecution to prove he did not. Judge Thomas said: “If you are sure he did not lose self control, your verdict is guilty of murder.”

The judge asked the jury to consider whether there was a “qualifying trigger”.

These include:

1. Fear of serious violence used on him by Georgina Dowey

2. Things said or done by Georgina Dowey constituting circumstances of an extreme, grave nature and caused him a justifiable sense of being wronged.

The judge said the second point did not include adultery or unfaithfulness.

He added: “Are you sure a sober person of the same age, sex, as Matthew Pickering with the normal degree of self control and restraint, would not have acted in the same or similar way.”

Evidence in the case now finished

Junior prosecutor Dean Pulling reads out a number of agreed facts between the prosecution and defence.

He said Pickering’s black cargo trousers and black sweatshirt were seized and examined but no blood was detected on them.

The prosecutor said Pickering first disclosed he had been attacked with a knife by Georgina Dowey and had disarmed her on September 21, 2023.

The house in Beaconsfield Street was returned to the owner on July 28, 2023.

Georgina Downey was remanded in custody prior to her conviction for wounding in 2008, for which she received a 12-month community order.

The evidence in the case has now finished.

PCSO describes encounter with Miss Dowey

PCSO Sarah Evans said she was called to Pontypridd railway station at 6.26pm on April 28 last year to reports of an aggressive woman at the entrance to the station.

The witness arrived at the station and spoke to Ms Dowey and asked why she had missed rail replacement buses.

She did not give a “coherent answer”, and appeared intoxicated and was slurring her speech. Ms Dowey said “I am trying to get to Neath”.

PCSO Evans told her there were no direct buses to Neath from Pontypridd. Ms Dowey initially refused to give her details but later relented.

The witness said she had trouble attempting to remove Ms Dowey from the station and required assistance from a police officer.

It was agreed Ms Dowey could use the rail replacement bus to travel to Cardiff to get a train to Neath, but was told to “behave” or the police would be called.

Witness says Pickering was 'nice, polite and genuinely concerned for Georgina'

Sophie Needham, of the Ty Iolo hostel in Barry, said Ms Dowey was brought to the hostel on March 7 after being evicted from a hotel. A search of her suitcase resulted in a rock being discovered.

The witness made Ms Dowey a coffee, as she appeared “intoxicated and vulnerable”, and took her to her room. She helped Ms Dowey into bed and said she would check on her later.

Ms Dowey came down that evening and asked for a taxi to take her to the shop to buy cigarette papers. She left but returned shortly later and returned to bed.

Ms Needham checked on Ms Dowey at 10pm that night, and she appeared to be asleep and breathing.

When she returned to her shift the next day, the witness saw Ms Dowey come downstairs and said she wanted to chat to her boyfriend. Ms Needham spoke to Pickering who asked if Ms Dowey was safe and if she had been drinking.

The defendant said Ms Dowey could come to his flat if she wasn’t drunk. The witness said: “He was nice, polite and genuinely concerned for Georgina.”

She described Ms Dowey as “intoxicated” but “pleasant”. The witness said Ms Dowey returned to her room, and did not see her for the rest of her shift.

Miss Dowey described Pickering as 'childhood sweetheart'

Ms Partridge said she spoke to Pickering and told him Ms Dowey had had a “rough day” but was safe. She described the defendant as “pleasant and calm” in contrast to Ms Dowey’s “utter chaos”.

A colleague helped Ms Dowey to the toilets and Ms Partridge was told by a receptionist at the officers to “be careful” as Ms Dowey had been “aggressive”.

Ms Dowey continued to talk about her boyfriend and described them as “childhood sweethearts” who had reconnected.

Ms Partridge spoke to Pickering a second time who asked if Ms Dowey was “intoxicated”, and described her as “an alcoholic” and a “drug addict”. He said he didn’t want her near his flat if she was drunk as she had previously “smashed up his house”. The witness said the defendant was not aggressive or rude when he said this.

Ms Partridge said a decision was made to take Ms Dowey to a hostel and was driven there by a colleague.

Miss Dowey said she wanted to see Pickering after being assaulted by neighbour

Kathleen Partridge said she attended work at the Vale of Glamorgan civic office in Barry on March 7 last year when she saw an old school friend, who told her she had come across a woman being ejected from a taxi with a suitcase.

The witness said Ms Dowey was asleep on a reception sofa and smelt of alcohol. She was unable to walk due to her level of intoxication, and had been kicked out of a hotel she had been staying in.

Ms Partridge said she tried to wake Ms Dowey but was unable to establish what had happened due to her drunken state. She described Ms Dowey as “rambling” and spoke about being assaulted by her neighbour. The witness said she was shown photos of Ms Dowey’s injuries which she described as “horrific”.

She described Ms Dowey as being “frail”, “skin and bone” and was toothless. Ms Partridge was told by Ms Dowey she “wanted her boyfriend” and asked her to ring him. She described her boyfriend as “lovely” and had him saved as “My Babe” in her phone. Ms Dowey said she wanted to go to Neath to see her boyfriend.

Ms Partridge said Ms Dowey was too intoxicated to get a train to Neath so called her boyfriend.

Neighbours describes Pickering and Miss Dowey arguing

Samuel Doyle, Pickering’s next door neighbour, said his wife made him aware there was police in the street. He said: “She said the alcoholic woman who lives next door to us had been found dead and police were treating it as suspicious.

Mr Doyle said he believed a man lived next door and the woman was his girlfriend who would frequently stay there. He said she had previously put empty bottles of vodka in his recycling bin. He described Pickering as “keeping himself to himself”.

The witness said he had previously heard the couple arguing and could hear the woman raising her voice and swearing, as well as crashing and banging.

He said his wife had contacted their landlord about this but was told nothing could be done.

Line manager says Pickering had 'increased levels of stress'

Eleanor Colwill, a theatre manager at the Sancta Maria Hospital in Swansea, is a former colleague of Pickering. She described the defendant as a “pleasant bloke” but could be “socially awkward” and would struggle to speak to people or look them in the eye.

She said Pickering was “really good” with patients and their families and “knowledgeable” about his work.

The witness said she became the defendant’s line manager and had to deal with frequent sickness absences. This later progressed to a disciplinary procedure and concerns were raised about Pickering’s mental health.

It had been noticed by Ms Colwill that Pickering had “increased levels of stress” and had to remove himself from situations to calm himself.

She said she became aware Pickering had a partner and described herself as “shocked” as he had never mentioned this before. She said the defendant asked for unpaid leave as his partner was an alcoholic and would be attending rehab. He was given one week unpaid leave.

The witness said: “It was clear to me it was causing extreme stress.” Following his return to work, Pickering was closely managed but following further sickness absences he was formally dismissed.

Following the outbreak of Covid-19, Pickering’s position was reinstated but there were further absences which led to his final dismissal. He appealed the decision, which was upheld.

Ms Colwill said she had been told Pickering’s partner had “stabbed someone”, but could not remember if she had been told this by the defendant or someone else. She also said Pickering had been told by his partner she was pregnant, but it turned out not to be the case.

'She’ll use you and try to get everything out of you'

Nicholas Jones came to know Ms Dowey after he offered her help when she appeared lost in the street. He said they were not in a relationship but he became a friend.

The witness said he noticed Ms Dowey had “scratches and bruises” to her head.

He offered her to stay at his home for a period, but described her getting drunk and “banging” her head on the radiator. The witness said: “She could get into a right state when she was drunk.”

Mr Jones said he spoke to Ms Dowey about Pickering who he described as “seeming to want nothing to do with her”. He said the defendant had tried to warn him by saying “She’ll use you and try to get everything out of you”. On another occasion, he claimed Pickering was “abusive towards him”.

Mr Jones said: “I tried to help her and take her to hospital but she didn’t want help. I thought she was going to die from alcohol, she needed professional help and couldn’t do any more for her so I asked her to leave.”

The witness said Ms Dowey collapsed while leaving his home and called the police, claiming he had assaulted her. After this he no longer had contact with her.

He said he was not afraid of Ms Dowey but had been told she had “gone at someone with a knife”.

Mr Jones added: “When sober she was a lovely pleasant person, she had friends who genuinely cared for her and wanted to help her.”

Another ex partner says Miss Dowey pushed him in front of a bus

The next statement is from Anthony Rees, who was in a relationship with Ms Dowey for a year.

He said she was violent towards him when in drink, her main drink being rum. The witness said Ms Dowey had pushed him down the stairs and broke his collarbone.

Mr Rees said he did not tell the doctors he had been pushed as Ms Dowey had gone with him, and he did not go to hospital after being told to do so.

He said he reported Ms Dowey to the police twice, once after she had pushed him in front of a bus, and a second time when she bit him on the face.

The witness said there was violence on a “regular basis” and Ms Dowey took the £250 he received each fortnight.

After she kicked him out of her house, Mr Rees said he left the area and had not seen her in seven years.

Miss Dowey's ex partner says she was violent to him

The next statement is from Michael Lawrence. He said he had been in a relationship with Ms Dowey for one to two years, around 15 years ago.

The witness said he ended the relationship due to her “chaotic behaviour” and drink habit. He said Ms Dowey would call the police on him and “make false allegations”. Mr Lawrence said he had never been charged, apart from one count of criminal damage of which he was cleared.

The witness said he was not violent towards Ms Dowey but she was violent to him and had assaulted him in “various ways”. He said she had punched him, lashed out at him and had hit him with a spatula. He said he had not sought medical attention for these assaults.

Mr Lawrence said he kept in touch with Ms Dowey, but claimed she had turned up at his house with an unknown man who had assaulted him. He said this was the last time he saw her.

Welcome to Thursday's coverage

The trial resumes.

Junior defence barrister Robin Rouch reads out a number of statements.

The first is from a man named Andrew Jelly who was in a relationship with Georgina Dowey for a year.

He said their relationship was initially sexual but things went “downhill”. The witness said: “She was not trustworthy and told me I could not go to her house on weekends because it was family time but I heard from other people she had men back to the address on weekends.”

Mr Jelly said Ms Dowey was “great and caring” when sober but was “abusive” when she drank alcohol and would start an argument.

He said she would become “physically violent” towards him when he tried to leave and reported her to the police twice.

On one occasion Mr Jelly said Ms Dowey had punched him and he had driven to Neath police station to report her. He said he ended the relationship, but Ms Dowey had got her new boyfriend to drive to his mother’s house and she had punched him in the face.

'For seconds, she was not a threat'

Prosecution barrister Mr Jones: "Do you accept that at the point of the killing she was no threat to you at all? You accept that don't you?"

Pickering: "For seconds, she was not a threat."

Barrister: "You put a bag over her head because you knew what you had done to her face.... You were in that house with a vulnerable woman and you killed her. This was not manslaughter Mr Pickerig, but murder."

'There was no story to get straight'

The barrister asks Pickering why, after the police arrived on the scene following a call from his father, he had not simply told them what had happened in the house.

Barrister: "You knew you had beaten her up and killed her, and you had to get your story straight."

Pickering: "There was no beating and no story to get straight."

Asked why he started telling police about an event four years previously, the defendant says he was "rambling" because of his "level of panic and confusion".

Defendant still hadn't called police by Sunday afternoon

The barrister takes the defendant to a CCTV image from 2.31pm on Sunday afternoon showing him walking on Beaconsfield Street with a small white bag, and asks him what was in the bag - Pickering says he is not sure, and is not sure if it is a bag in his hand.

Asked where he was going, he says he thought his family may have been on the way to Cadoxton and he didn't want them going to the house. Asked why he was walking up Beaconsfield Street rather than down towards the main road the defendant says he just wanted to "breathe some air".

Mr Jones: "At this point, had you reported to the police that there had been an incident?

Pickering: "No"

Barrister: "Are you getting rid of something connected with Georgina?"

Pickering: "No"

Defendant changed back into clothes he was wearing during Miss Dowey's death

The defendant confirms he changed back into the clothes which he was wearing when he killed Georgina, saying he only had two pairs of trousers that fitted him due to his weight loss. He said he took the black trousers with him to his parents house to wear while his jeans were being washed.

The defendant confirms his father later gave him a left back to Cadoxton, dropping him off outside the Green Dragon pub.

'I knew I would not be seeing [my parents] for some time'

The barrister asks the defendant why, when he got to his parents' house that morning, he did not tell them about the "terrible incident" that had happened at the Cadoxton house.

Pickering: "I didn't want them knowing about it at that point. I was planning to report it after visiting them. I just wanted to spend some time... I knew I would not be seeing them for some time."

The defendant agrees that his family would have been a "sympathetic audience" because they "didn't think much of Georgina" given the pair's history together, but he says he didn't tell them, adding "I just could not do it."

Barrister: "You did not disclose it because you had not got your story straight. There were other items you needed to dispose of."

Pickering: "No."