A couple has been convicted of murder after beating and starving a vulnerable man to death. Melanie James, 63, and Kenneth Newton, 57, were found guilty by jurors at Stafford Crown Court.
Rubin Blount, 28, who had a low IQ and learning difficulties, was placed in the couple's care by social services in 2015. Prosecutors argued James and Newton kept Mr. Blount for their own financial benefit and subjected him to abuse for their own amusement.
Jurors heard that in the weeks before his death, Mr. Blount resembled a "bag of bones" and had been seen scavenging in bins. By the end of his life, he weighed just seven stone and had sustained multiple rib fractures, a fractured spine, and cigarette burns. Video footage played in court showed the couple mocking and threatening Mr. Blount, with James suggesting she might send a recording to the television show "You've Been Framed."
During the trial, prosecutor Jennifer Josephs KC stated that the defendants treated their dog with more kindness than Mr. Blount. She described him as someone to be "belittled, mocked, assaulted and kept for their own financial benefit." The court was told he was "battered, assaulted" and subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment as his health deteriorated due to lack of food, care, and through injury and illness.
Newton, who was described as a "sort of step-brother" to Mr. Blount, and James had known the victim since birth. The court heard that Mr. Blount had lived with his parents until 2015 when authorities determined it was no longer appropriate for him to live at home.
Mr. Blount's parents discovered the extent of his suffering on November 26, 2022, when James informed them he was unwell. Upon visiting him, they were so shocked by his condition that they drove him to Good Hope Hospital. Mr. Blount's father testified that his son was unconscious and "looked like a bag of bones," with his clothes and bed soaked in urine. He also stated that Newton appeared distressed, saying, "we're going to get the blame for this."
At the hospital, Mr. Blount suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff discovered he had pneumonia, multiple rib fractures, kidney and liver dysfunction, and heart damage. He died four days later from septic shock, attributed to pneumonia and lung damage. His BMI was recorded at 16 at the time of his admission.
James and Newton are scheduled to be sentenced on September 25. The trial lasted seven weeks, with the jury deliberating for nine-and-a-half hours before reaching their verdict.