Jury considers case of teen accused of murdering gay man

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A jury in Lincolnshire is considering the case of a teenager accused of killing a gay man.

Aiden Jackson, 18, denies murder but admits manslaughter and claims he attacked 67-year-old David Cowley because he was “disgusted” by the older man’s sexual advances.

Mr Cowley’s body was found on November 17th 2010 at a remote spot at Ballast Pits off Mareham Lane. He had been beaten and suffocated.

According to the Lincolnshire Echo, Jackson told Lincoln crown court that Mr Cowley had offered him money for sex the previous evening, which “shocked” him.

But he admitted going to meet the older man the next day to be driven to the remote spot.

He said Mr Cowley asked him if he would do anything sexual and he replied that he was not gay.

Prosecutor Amjad Malik QC asked: “For his conversation about him liking young men, you found him disgusting?”

Jackson replied: “Yes. He was preying on young people.”

He said he pushed Mr Cowley when the older man put his hand down the defendant’s trousers.

He claimed that he then drove home in the pensioner’s car and returned later with a friend, who he said told him to put his foot on Mr Cowley’s neck.

Jackson claimed that the other teenager stamped on the victim’s head several times before they left.

The prosecution says Mr Jackson acted alone. A 17-year-old boy has been cleared of perverting the course of justice.