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  "path": "/news/neighbour-from-hell-kills-homeowner-sitting-on-him",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-27T15:17:53.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Neighbour row erupts over newbuild property that makes homeowner feel like a 'prisoner' in her garden",
    "Mother-of-two forced to remove 'ugly fence' following £4,000 row with neighbours",
    "Man shells out £18k for round-the-clock security guard to protect tiny wall from being ripped down",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA neighbour from hell killed a homeowner after sitting on top of him and beating him on Christmas Day following a row.\n\nJames Hughes, 67, was found guilty by a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday following the death of Harold Turner, 68, at their sheltered housing complex in St Asaph, Denbighshire.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe court heard that the deadly confrontation on Christmas last year stemmed from complaints Mr Turner had made about sounds coming from Hughes's property.\n\nDuring the altercation outside Hughes's flat, he pinned his neighbour to the ground and repeatedly struck him with his walking stick.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHughes will return to court for sentencing at a date yet to be determined.\n\nThe jury was told that Hughes habitually wore a voice recording device around his neck on a lanyard, which he used to document conversations due to memory difficulties.\n\nThis dictaphone captured the altercation.\n\nIn the recording played to the court, Mr Turner could be heard pleading \"get off me\" and \"I can't breathe\" as Hughes restrained him.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe dictaphone captured Hughes's indifference to his neighbour's distress.\n\n\"What a shame,\" he replied, before adding: \"You can die for all I care.\"\n\nA post-mortem examination established that Mr Turner died from asphyxia, having also sustained blunt force injuries to his head and face.\n\nParamedics who attended the scene were unable to revive him despite resuscitation attempts.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Neighbour row erupts over newbuild property that makes homeowner feel like a 'prisoner' in her garden\n  * Mother-of-two forced to remove 'ugly fence' following £4,000 row with neighbours\n  * Man shells out £18k for round-the-clock security guard to protect tiny wall from being ripped down\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nFollowing the attack, Hughes returned inside his flat, switched on the radio and prepared himself a hot drink.\n\nA subsequent phone conversation with his nephew, also captured by the recording device, revealed Hughes's awareness of what he had done.\n\n\"I think I may have killed someone,\" he told his relative, later adding: \"I was sitting on him, dying...\"\n\nHe described how Turner's head was \"bleeding because I whacked it with my new walking stick.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHughes expressed concern about the consequences, telling his nephew: \"I just hope I haven't killed him or I'll cop a murder charge.\"\n\nAfter ending the call, the dictaphone recorded him asking his dog about the whereabouts of his walking stick, stating he needed to clean it.\n\nWhen Hughes eventually contacted emergency services, he suggested Mr Turner might have suffered a heart attack, mentioning only that he had struck him before falling.\n\nMr Turner's family paid tribute following his death, describing him as someone who would be \"sadly missed.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThey said he was one of six siblings who joined the Navy after leaving school, subsequently working in London, Ireland, and his hometown of Rhyl.\n\nIn the wake of the killing, North Wales Police made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.\n\nThe IOPC determined that an investigation was necessary but concluded it should be conducted locally by the force itself.\n\nThe watchdog stated it would maintain oversight of the process, noting: \"They will need to share with us their investigation report, for review, if no conduct issues are identified by them.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Neighbour from hell found guilty of murdering homeowner after sitting on top of him"
}