A woman has gone on trial accused of conspiring to murder her ex-husband after she allegedly gave three men information of his whereabouts before he was ‘tortured to death’ in his own home.
Coleen Campbell, 38, denies plotting the killing of her former spouse Thomas Campbell, who was found dead at a property on Riverside in Mossley, Greater Manchester, on July 3 last year.
Bolton Crown Court heard Mr Campbell, 38, died after suffering ‘terrible pain’ during a two-hour ordeal.
Three men lay in wait at Mr Campbell’s home and tortured him, inflicting fatal injuries, a jury heard. Stephen Cleworth, 38, and Reece Steven, 29, also deny murder.
While prosecutors do not allege Ms Campbell was present at the scene of the killing, she is accused of providing the alleged murderers with information about her ex-husband’s whereabouts.
Coleen Campbell denies conspiring to murder her former spouse Thomas Campbell
It was previously reported that Mr Campbell led a jetset lifestyle with £100,000 dirty cash from a cocaine racket.
Prosecutors said that the Campbells had been together for eight years but divorced in 2019, and Mr Campbell was in a new relationship with a former girlfriend of the attack’s alleged ‘mastermind’, John Belfield.
The jury heard that three men, alleged to be Mr Belfield, Mr Steven and a third unknown man, ‘pounced on’ Mr Campbell when he arrived home at about 11pm on July 2 last year.
Nicholas de la Pour KC, prosecuting, said: ‘Three men bundled him into his house. He was then subjected to two hours of torture.’
Prosecutors allege Mr Belfield, Ms Campbell and two other men were part of a plot to rob Mr Campbell at his home.
Mr Belfield, 28, who is not before the court and is believed to have fled the UK, had read a Manchester Evening News article about Mr Campbell and his ex-wife’s ‘wealthy lifestyle’.
The jury heard that Mr Belfield and others allegedly carried out ‘hostile reconnaissance’ and visited Mr Campbell’s home three times before his death.
There was also an alleged ‘aborted’ attack on June 30, after Mr Campbell had returned and left to walk his dog rather than entering his house.
Campbell is on trial after her ex-husband was ‘tortured to death’ at his home
The alleged plot was a week in the making, prosecutors claimed, after Mr Belfield had contacted Ms Campbell on Instagram. The pair had previously been ‘apparent strangers’, the court heard.
During the ‘brutal’ attack Mr Campbell suffered 61 injuries, including multiple cuts to his face, the court heard. He had also been strangled ‘at least once’.
Mr de la Pour said: ‘He had been scalded by a very hot liquid. The liquid had been poured on his leg and inner thigh area. His scrotum may have been scalded. His buttocks were also scalded.’
Mr Campbell was restrained using duct tape during the ordeal, the jury heard.
Mr de la Pour added: ‘The three men were well prepared, having brought with them the means to restrain and the means to inflict terrible pain.
‘Many injuries and indignities were inflicted upon Thomas Campbell during this time.’
While prosecutors do not allege Ms Campbell was present at the scene of the killing, she is accused of providing the alleged murderers with information about her ex-husband’s whereabouts
His house was ‘ransacked’ while the torture continued, jurors heard. Mr Campbell was left naked in his hallway as the attackers fled.
Mr de la Pour said: ‘He was, to all intents and purposes, tortured to death..’
Mr Campbell was discovered by neighbours the following morning.
A tracker was allegedly placed on Mr Campbell’s car by Mr Cleworth days before his death, when he had driven to his daughter’s school to pick her up.
Mr de la Pour said: ‘The prosecution’s case is that Coleen Campbell gave information about her ex-husband to John Belfield, knowing and intending that the information would be used to help in the attack on Mr Campbell..’
Prosecutors allege Mr Belfield’s motivation for the attack was to rob ‘items of value’, which Mr Belfield believed Mr Campbell had in his home.
Mr de la Pour added: ‘Exactly what John Belfield and his team were hoping to find and whether he found it is not known.’
Prosecutors allege that Mr Belfield was also motivated by ‘hostility’ to Mr Campbell because he was in a relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
They claim Mr Belfield regarded the woman ‘as his property’, and in one ‘ominous’ message he told her: ‘You will never have a boyfriend, you will have to move country, give it a week and you will see why and happens when you take the p***.’
A fourth man in the dock is Karl Murphy, 50, who is accused of driving the alleged murderers to the scene. Prosecutors do not claim that Ms Campbell or Mr Cleworth were at the scene of the attack.
Mr Cleworth was said to have been the planned driver before Mr Murphy was brought in at the ‘last minute’ because Mr Cleworth was allegedly on a ‘bender’ at a swingers’ club and was uncontactable.
They claim that both were involved in assisting or encouraging the alleged plot to cause ‘really serious bodily harm or death to Thomas Campbell’.
When she was arrested, Ms Campbell said she had ‘no reason’ to want her ex-husband dead.
Ms Campbell, of Clayton, east Manchester; Mr Cleworth, of Heywood; and Mr Steven, of Middleton, have pleaded not guilty to murder and conspiracy to rob.
Mr Murphy, of Denton, denies participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
