Man accused of killing Brighton student says he’d never seen, met or spoken to him

Billy Henham was allegedly beaten unconscious, stripped naked and thrown off a balcony at a disused building in Brighton on January 1, 2020.

The 24-year-old, from Henfield, suffered 11 rib fractures, extensive bruising to his scalp, face and neck and a brain injury.

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Gregory Hawley, 29, Dushane Meikle, 27, Lamech Gordon-Carew, 20, and 18-year-old Alize Spence are on trial accused of his murder.

Giving evidence to a jury at Maidstone Crown Court, Hawley repeatedly denied any involvement in the alleged murder.

However, the court had previously been told that Hawley allegedly spoke of seeing Billy’s final breath and having to “clean up the mess” with disinfectant.

Hawley, who has 13 previous convictions for 31 offences dating back to 2008 when he was just 15, said the only mess he had cleaned up was vomit on the floor at the squat.

Billy Henham

Billy, who studied film and photography at Ravensbourne University in London, was last seen at 4.30am in All Sorts off-licence in North Street, diagonally opposite the squat where a New Year's Eve party was held.

His body, which had been dropped over balcony railings from a height of nearly 11ft, was discovered by police the following day.

Forensic experts discovered disinfectant in his hair while bloodstained areas where he had been beaten appeared to have been “diluted”, the court heard.

The jury was told that while his injuries would have rendered him unconscious, Billy would have been alive for at least an hour after the violent attack.

Asked by his barrister Jeremy Wainwright QC whether he knew Billy was in the building that night, Hawley replied “No”.

He also maintained he had not taken part in any assault or helped with the disposal of his body.

Hawley said he knew Meikle, who also uses the name Flames, but could not recall when he had met Gordon-Carew, known a Els, or Spence, who as Ace.

He said he overheard Els and Ace talking about punching someone, but added he could not recall who they meant.

Later he recalled having met a man called Nathan who had told him “something had kicked off” and that Flames, Els and Ace were involved.

During cross-examination, Hawley was questioned about what he had told police when interviewed, including claims he heard Gordon-Carew and Spence “laughing and joking about throwing someone over a balcony”.

"What you were telling police was what you knew. That was your voice," prosecutor James Mulholland QC said. Hawley replied: "No."

Hawley told the court that prosecution witness Danny Barnes had lied about him saying three people had been involved in a man's death because he had been “lairy”.

Police found two deleted photos on Meikle’s phone of Billy’s body on the roof terrace.

Meikle, of Amberley Drive, Hove, Gordon-Carew, of Cheeseman Close, Hampton, Middlesex, Hawley, of no fixed address, and Spence, of Makepeace Road, Northolt, Middlesex, all deny murder.

The trial continues.