Jury sent out in Kieran Avery murder trial (From Bucks Free Press)

Jury sent out in Kieran Avery murder trial

12:05pm Tuesday 24th November 2009 in

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THE JURY in the case of 21-year-old Kieran Avery, a High Wycombe man on trial for murder at Reading Crown Court, have been sent out to decide his fate.

Avery has already admitted the manslaughter of businessman Colin Butler, 49, on October 24 last year but he denies murder.

Mr Butler was beaten to death outside his home on Marlow Road, High Wycombe, the court heard.

The defence closed its case yesterday morning, saying Avery was “provoked” and had “diminished responsibility” for the killing.

Simon Mayo, defending, told jurors the killing was “a disaster waiting to happen”.

He said: “Colin Butler was a rather sick individual...and wanted to corrupt others into his way of thinking.

“There was a cocktail of perversion and corruption which you may think was inevitably going to explode.

“This was a man who had the capability of putting fear right to the heart of anyone he met.

“There's no dispute in this case that Colin Butler tried to provoke Kieran Avery, it's part of the prosecution's own evidence.”

Last week jurors heard Mr Butler took sexual gratification from violence and that he and Avery had a “friendship of sorts” for eight months.

Also last week psychiatrist Dr Michael Alcock told the court he believed Avery was suffering from an acute stress reaction during the killing, which could have put him in a “trance-like state”.

Yet another psychiatrist said this “disconnect” between mind and body was unlikely – and a prosecutor said Avery killed Butler because he was “angry” with his sexual advances.

On the night of the killing the pair had been drinking in the Roundabout pub in Bridge Street before going back to Mr Butler's home on Marlow Road.

Mr Butler asked Avery into the house but he refused and they started arguing about money, jurors heard.

Mr Butler then made a sexual advance towards Avery who punched him because he was “scared” and “disgusted”, jurors heard.

Avery told jurors that Mr Butler then got up and said “I swear I'm going to kill you”. He said he cannot remember the rest of the attack.

In the hours after the killing Avery told friends he had attacked Mr Butler because he said he had raped a girl, the court heard.